KI: On the Wings of Light and Dark
by brawlingwolf
Summary: Mere weeks have passed since Pit's triumph over the Underworld Army, but things aren't as they should be. The angel quickly learns that the threat to their world has far from passed and must rise again to combat it. This time, however, he won't be alone. No pairings.
1. Chapter I: Destruction

"Well, are you going or not?" what seemed to be a girl wondered rather sarcastically. Her long, pale-blonde hair was pulled into a side ponytail by a root- and twig-like decorative band, and a circlet similar to it rested around her head. Part of her hair fell to the side of her face, and she wore a dark drape of sorts fastened by a light purple flower over a red dress, belted by a root.

"Why should I?" the angel she was addressing replied. He leaned his shoulder against the wall of the temple they stood in, his crimson gaze watching her as his dark wings rested behind him. His arms were crossed over his black tunic, decorated in gold lining and fastened by a pale purple gem set in a gold base. Under this, he wore a skintight, sleeveless black shirt and matching shorts, and each of his wrists were encased in a black brace with gold cuffs on each end. Nestled among his spiky black locks of hair was a golden crown of laurels.

"Because if you don't," she responded with sarcastic confidence, "then you don't fly." He sighed heavily, still regretting how he'd lost his ability to fly several weeks previous. In his heart, however, he couldn't deny that it was the price of a cause well worth it, and he knew he may not have been alive without that cost.

"Fine," he surrendered. "So, what do you want me to do?" The girl smiled.

"That's better. So, come here." He tilted his head and shoved off the wall, trudging over to her. She pointed to a reflective surface nestled among the vines climbing up the walls. After a moment, an image of a human town came into view on it. The dark-winged angel stared at it, his expressing shifting from surprise, to horror, then back to his stoic sarcasm with an underlying tone of anger.

"What the heck are they doing there?" he demanded as he watched several strange creatures, creatures he recognized too well, assault the town and its inhabitants.

"I wish I knew," the girl replied. "I thought we'd dealt with this. Even if we didn't get rid of all of them, they definitely shouldn't be mounting an attack this quickly again." She paused. "They're too unorganized by themselves. Who's leading them?" The angel frowned.

"That's where I come in, huh?" he turned his gaze toward her.

"Exactly," she smiled.

"Fine, fine," he held up his hands. "Whatever you say, Viridi."

"Hey!" she glared at him. "You call me 'goddess,' understand?" she demanded.

"Right, Goddess of Nature, I know." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I get it."

"So wise up, or else," Viridi threatened.

"Or what?" he challenged, leaning down a bit so their eyes were on the same level. She smirked.

"Or I'll start calling you 'Pittoo' again." He blinked.

"Okay, okay," he growled. "I couldn't care less about what you call me: Dark Pit, whatever, but ANYTHING but that," he stressed. "Fine, Goddess Viridi. You win. I'll head out." She smiled and nodded.

"That's a good little angel." He rolled his eyes and looked back to the town.

"Wait..." he mumbled and stepped closer to it. "Are those... those are Reapers!" he realized. Indeed, the collectors of souls had flocked to the town in great numbers. "Why would they- There's so many of them..."

"That... can't be good," Viridi admitted. "Look, I couldn't care less about the humans, but there are others creatures living there. Go check on them. Leave those good-for-nothing humans to Palutena." She paused and glanced to the mirror. "Speaking of which, I'm surprised she hasn't sent her loyal little tool to investigate." Dark Pit rolled his shoulders and smirked.

"Well, whatever," he replied as he headed toward the gate leading out to the Overworld. "They only need one Pit." He grabbed his weapon resting next to the gate, a Silver Bow that sported a blue hue lined by a sharp silver edge that split into two short swords.

"We'll see," Viridi replied. "Just try not to get too destroyed out there."

"What, me?" he scoffed. "Those Underworld freaks have no chance." He turned as the gate opened, letting in a blinding light, and he leaped out into the air as a light emitted from his wings. The wind whipped around him as he sped through the skies, bow gripped tight and his eyes trained forward.

"So, remember, you're just going to check things out," Viridi reminded him from her temple. "See what's happening, find out how the living beings around there are."

"I know, I know," he replied. "And you don't care about the humans. I get it. I'll do it. So stop worrying your leaves off."

"Excuse me?" she demanded again. "Just what do you mean by that?"

"Forget it," he sighed as the town came into his line of sight. "I'm approaching my destination."

"Wow, with plenty of time to spare," she realized. "Did you run into any trouble at all?"

"Just a nasty updraft," he answered. "So, what, prepare for land battle?"

"Do I really need to say that?" He rolled his eyes again as he descended into the town. As his feet touched down, he pulled his weapon up to the ready, scanning his surroundings. He could hear screaming among the strange calls of the Underworld monsters. The Reapers continued their harvest overhead, darting up into the sky and then back down among the structures of the town. He clenched his teeth and took off at a jog toward the center of town.

"So, you really have no idea why these freaks are attacking?" he inquired as he peaked around the corner toward the fountain serving as the town's centerpiece.

"Unfortunately," Viridi confirmed. "And... it seems like they're actually after the souls of the humans. But why?" She paused. "I mean... Hades killed Medusa and Pit defeated him... anyone else that could lead them was toast during the war."

"But what do they need all these souls for?" Dark Pit crept out from his hiding place and quickly caught the attention of a group of Underworld monsters. He readied an arrow and let it fly, taking one down and repeated until he took them down.

However, his maneuvers ended up drawing another enemy he would have rather avoided. Several Reapers turned away from the fallen humans directly toward him, and he swallowed. After he got over his immediate shock, he took off running down an alley with the Reapers hot on his heels.

"Why the heck are they after me?" he demanded, turning quickly and ducking down into a crumbling building.

"I... I'm not sure," Viridi admitted. "They shouldn't be- not like this. They're after you for a reason beyond just for the sake of your soul."

"Yeah, thanks," he grumbled. "So, what do I do?"

"Uh... fight back! Don't let them hurt you!"

"I could have figured that out myself," he sighed and separated his bow. He felt his heart pounding as the Reapers approached and looked over his shoulder. As soon as they came into his view, he lunged out and slashed clean through their leader. It flew back and stared at him, a glare that he returned with hostility. It retreated, leaving another two after him. He hopped back and readied his swords as they approached him, and pushed off his back foot toward one. He knocked it back with relative ease, and turned toward the third. But, before either could attack, a large hunk of metal blew through it and caused it to dissipate. Perhaps realizing the situation, the other two returned to the sky and left toward other targets.

The angel known as Dark Pit stared at the owner of the hunk of metal: a large, muscular man with messy dark hair falling behind his shoulders and trace amounts of facial hair. His dress, a dark shirt over a red undershirt and black pants, showed that he was a warrior. He had several tattoos marking his body, and his arms were wrapped in bandages in several places. His deep yellow gaze glanced over the dark angel curiously, and he could tell this man was surprised to see him.

"Huh," the man raised one of his eyebrows. "You're not... you can't be Pit, can you?"

"Nope," the dark angel smiled a bit. "But good guess. I'm his... dark side, you could say. But," he tilted his head with a mocking tone. "Which of us is the real one?"

"A Dark Pit, huh?" the man replied, obviously unfazed by the angel's comments.

"That's what I tend to be called," Dark Pit agreed.

"But you're not allied with these Underworld creeps," the man realized. "Otherwise, those Reapers wouldn't have come after you." Dark Pit nodded. "You fighting them?"

"I dunno, am I?" the angel wondered, addressing the Goddess of Nature.

"Uh..." Viridi paused, obviously caught off guard. "Well, you're gonna fight whether I tell you to or not, so fine. Go ahead." Dark Pit smirked a bit.

"Then yeah, I am fighting them." The man stared at him.

"You talking with some goddess?" he inquired. The dark angel nodded again.

"Yep. But don't get the wrong idea- THIS Pit isn't a servant. I've got something of a deal with the Goddess of Nature, and she's not too happy with you humans." The man shrugged.

"Goddess of Nature, eh? Not surprised. I've seen people do some pretty nasty stuff to the earth. Guess we should have expected a retaliation after a while. So, did she send these freaks?"

"I most certainly did not!" Viridi yelled.

"Nah," Dark Pit answered. "She's got nothing to do with it. I was coming to check things out, but it seems like you could use a little help. Now, hold on a sec'." He put his bow back together and shot a Mik coming up behind the man. "Okay."

"Hrm." The man nodded. "Alright, how 'bout we work together, then? Get rid of these monsters, figure out what's going on." Dark Pit nodded once more.

"Sounds good," he agreed.

"Alright. I'm Magnus," the man introduced himself. "After the Underworld Army showed up, I came out to help fight 'em off. Unfortunately, the Reapers made things a lot more difficult."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm here," Dark Pit smiled a bit. "So, let's show these creeps who's boss." Magnus nodded. "Anyway, you probably know this town better than I do, so lead on."

"Fine." The muscular man swung his massive sword up and rested it over his shoulders as he hurried down the alley opposite the fountain with the dark angel following closely. Dark Pit frowned and glanced up at the sky.

_These humans are in serious trouble. Where are you?_ he wondered, but quickly dismissed the thought as Magnus called out for help in dealing with a sudden onslaught of Underworld monsters, the Reapers hovering a short distance away as they watched the duo with greedy hunger.


	2. Chapter II: Teaming Up

The echoes of quick footsteps sounded throughout the halls of Palutena's temple as a young angel sprinted through them. His bright blue gaze was fixed on the large double doors at the end of the hall, and his white wings fluttered a bit with the rush of his speed. He wore a white tunic held by a brown belt tied to the side and clasped over his right shoulder by a red gem set in a gold base. Underneath, he wore a dark, skintight shirt and shorts, and each of his wrists bore a brown brace with gold cuffs on each end. His spiky tufts of brown hair were tamed slightly by a golden crown of laurels. He slowed as he reached the doors, panting as he tried to catch his breath and recover what composure he could possibly possess. After a moment, he squared his shoulders and went through one of the doors. He entered a large, bright chamber that featured little other than a raised altar far out of his reach.

"Lady Palutena," the angel beckoned, kneeling. Above him, standing on the altar, was what appeared to be a woman. Her long green hair fell down past her knees, and she was garbed in a white, sleeveless dress adorned with several intricate golden ornaments. On each arm she wore golden armor, and in one hand she held a staff. She turned around, surprised.

"Pit?" she wondered. "What brings you? Is everything okay?" He looked up and got to his feet.

"I... maybe you can tell me," he replied, feeling uneasy. "I just... feel like something's wrong. Like when we beat Hades, something in my head could tell that the balance had been restored between our world, the surface, and the Underworld." He paused. "But... I dunno. I guess I feel like that balance isn't right." Palutena's regretful gaze on him only made him feel edgier. After an awkward silence, she finally sighed.

"Pit, I'll be honest with you. I didn't think you would be able to sense such a change, but I suppose I've forgotten that you can be quite sharp about some things."

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?" he stammered, and the goddess's lack of a smile only worried him.

"There's something I should show you," she told him and waved her staff gently. A platform of some sort of energy appeared at the bottom of the altar and he quickly stepped on it, ascending to her level. She didn't say a word, but pointed to a small pool of water. He looked up to her, confused, before he turned his attention to the water.

"Ah!" he grunted as he found himself looking at a town he knew rather well, shocked by the alarming number of Underworld monsters bearing down on it. His shock grew as he noticed the Reapers. "Lady Palutena... what's going on?"

"I wish I knew," she sighed. "The Reapers are harvesting souls in such great quantities, and it's overthrowing the balance as you mentioned earlier. But I don't know why they're doing it."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he suddenly demanded, catching her off guard. "I need to get down there! The humans need us!"

"Pit, please," Palutena commanded, silencing him. "I... I can't let you go down there, not with the way things are now. If the Underworld is stirring like this, I can't afford to lose you. If... if you went down there now..."

"All the more reason I need to," he pressed. "I've fought Reapers before. I can deal with it."

"Not in those numbers!" she argued. "There isn't anything we can do. Not without risking Skyworld's forces." Pit grit his teeth and returned his gaze to the pool, and his stress only intensified.

"Magnus!" his eyes widened as he watched the stalwart human warrior fight off the Underworld forces swarming him. To Pit's confusion, an arrow similar to his own pierced through the fray, destroying several of the monsters. His expression fell as he saw the source of the arrow: a dark-winged angel bearing a striking resemblance to him. "Pittoo!" He clenched his jaw. "Lady Palutena, I can't just let them die. I'm begging you: let me go down and help them." Palutena watched him for a moment, then shut her eyes.

"Both Magnus and Pittoo are strong and able fighters," she reminded him. "But... I've neglected my duties as the Goddess of Light," she lamented. "Forgive me, Pit." She opened her eyes. "I should be grateful that you're ready to fight, not keeping you back when we can help."

"So, I can go?" he wondered. She nodded.

"Immediately," she replied. "We can't make up for the time already lost, but we must try to do as much as we can with what we still have." A light appeared from her free hand and took the shape of a bow, which he quickly took and jumped off the altar. With a quick glance back to her and a reassuring smile, he leaped out of the gate on the side of the chamber into the air. Within moments, his wings illuminated with Palutena's blessing of the Power of Flight, and he sped quickly toward the periled town.

"I don't see any Underworld monsters in your path," she told him telepathically. "You should have a straight and easy shot there."

"Understood," he replied.

"And Pit," she beckoned.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful, alright? Don't take any unnecessary risks. No matter what, you need to return to Skyworld." He smiled.

"I'll return to Skyworld victorious," he promised. "I beat Hades. I can deal with a few of his lackeys," he laughed. Within a few moments, he reached his destination and landed on his feet among its structures. He frowned as he crept through, glancing up every now and again to make sure he hadn't been spotted by the Reapers, then took off at a quick pace toward where he had spotted Magnus and Dark Pit earlier.

"Please tell me I'm not too late," he mumbled as he slowed down to catch his breath, and groaned as a sudden swarm of Underworld monsters showed up to block his path. "Come on, get out of my way!" he growled and pulled his bow apart, making quick work of his foes and hurrying along. "Eep."

"Be careful, Pit," Palutena cautioned. "There's a Reaper just to your left, coming toward you."

"Yeah, I know," he grumbled and ducked behind a wall. After a few, the Reaper passed and continued on its way. He started making his way back out to the alley, but something told him to stop. He turned around and looked around the room he'd entered, and his heart sunk as he fought back a cry of anguish. "No..." he mumbled.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Palutena wondered. Pit slowly made his way over to a crumpled shape on the ground and confirmed his fears. He set his bow down and knelt next to the shape, pulling it up in his arms to find it was indeed a little girl. Pit blinked back tears and his wings sagged as he held her close to his chest.

"I never got a chance to thank you..." he mumbled, recalling his confusing ordeal as a ring. Before he'd managed to find Magnus, he'd discovered via this same little girl that he could control whomever was wearing his ring. Despite not even knowing her name, he still felt some sort of bond with her. He wiped his eyes and set her down gently, clenching his fists as he recovered his weapon.

"Pit, what did you find?" Palutena pressed.

"I'll tell you later, I promise," he replied. "But... whatever's going on, it needs to be stopped." He hurried back out into town. "Kyah!" He ducked down at the last possible moment as a large sword came hurdling toward his head. "Jeez, watch it!" he spat.

"Pit?" Pit looked up and grinned, relief flooding through him. "Whoa, sorry about that. I heard something hiding in there, thought it was another monster."

"Good to see you too, Magnus," he nodded as Magnus withdrew his sword. The angel looked behind him to find a sarcastic glare meeting his gaze. "And you too, Pittoo."

"Pittoo?" Magnus snorted.

"Stop calling me that," Dark Pit said flatly, crossing his arms. "What took you so long? Things are pretty dire around here."

"I know," Pit's shoulders sagged. "I got... distracted, I guess." It wasn't a total lie.

"About time you showed up," another voice echoed around his head.

"Hi, Viridi," he shook his head lightly. "Yeah, yeah, sorry I'm late." He looked up to the sky. "So, Lady Palutena, what exactly are we doing now? I mean, do they have a commander or anything?"

"I'm looking," Palutena replied.

"Well, in the mean time," Dark Pit shot an arrow to the side, taking down another monster. "I'd say we either find shelter before the Reapers catch us or keep fighting them off. And..." he looked up. "Judging from their numbers, I don't think we'd last very long if we kept this up." Pit nodded.

"Right. Magnus," he turned to the human. "You know this town better than we do. Lead on." Magnus nodded and the trio headed further down the alley.

"Never thought I'd find myself fighting with an angel, let alone two," he remarked. "So, seriously. What's the deal with you two? Whole 'good-twin, evil-twin' thing or what? You guys allies?"

"I guess," Dark Pit shrugged. "It's a long story that would take even longer to explain. Maybe later." Pit nodded again.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's pretty nuts."

"Well," Magnus raised an eyebrow. "I'm fighting with a couple of angels, one of which ended up possessing my body so I could fight his. I think I've seen my share of 'nuts' regarding you, Pit." Pit chuckled.

"Maybe." They rounded a corner to be faced with another onslaught of Underworld monsters. They made quick work of the creatures, and Dark Pit looked around.

"Seems like their numbers are thinning out," he noticed. "Question is, is that a good thing or bad?"

"Wouldn't that be good?" Pit wondered, tipping his head to the side.

"Not necessarily," Dark Pit watched him in disbelief. "Seriously, stop drooling and think for a moment. I know you're capable of it. Maybe it's good, meaning we're beating them and they're not sending reinforcements, or maybe it's bad in the sense that they're finishing up their original task. Look." He pointed up. "Most of the Reapers are retreating."

"Oh, okay," Pit nodded. "I get it." He paused as he processed what his dark look-alike had said. "And I don't drool!"

"There some... bad blood between you two, or what?" Magnus inquired. The angelic opposites exchanged a look.

"I don't even know anymore," Pit admitted, scratching his head in confusion.

"Pit!" Palutena caught his attention. "Head to your right. Something just appeared in the middle of the town, but I'm not entirely sure what it is. Be careful."

"Thanks, Lady Palutena," he replied.

"Alright, let's go," Dark Pit hurried toward the center of town with Pit following.

"Where are we going?" Magnus huffed. Pit looked over his shoulder to the warrior.

"Center of town. Apparently, something just showed up." Magnus blinked.

"Keep in mind that I'm not exactly a part of your conversations with your goddesses. I've got no idea what they're saying." Pit grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry about that," he turned back to their path, and the trio reached the fountain in the center of the town a short time later. Pit glanced around, confused.

"Okay, so... time for the pre-boss-battle rallying cry?" he wondered.

"The what?" Magnus demanded. Both angels looked up at him.

"Uh, maybe not this time," Dark Pit mumbled. Pit nodded vigorously in agreement, and Magnus sighed.

"Fine, if you two- Look!" He cut himself off and pointed toward the fountain, and Pit turned toward it just as a ball of smoke erupted from its depths. The trio retreated in different directions, and Pit readied his bow as the smoke burst forth into dark purple and white flames surrounding what looked like a vaporous skull. Its eye sockets scanned the three fighters quickly and it let out a bellow that hurt Pit's ears.

"Lady Palutena!" the angel cried out. "What is that thing?"

"I believe it's..." there was a trace of panic in Palutena's voice. "It's a form of Death Incarnate. To be honest, I've never actually seen one before, but I've heard of them: they only appear where death has struck a large number of living creatures."

"And that means that entire town has essentially been..." Viridi suddenly spoke up. "What is the Underworld possibly doing with all those souls?"

"I don't know," Dark Pit growled. "But any tips on this thing in front of us?"

"Uh..." both goddesses were silent.

"I believe they only show up to pick off the last few survivors," Palutena told them. "Try to keep your distance, and keep attacking it. If anything, you should be able to either defeat it or make it realize you're not worth the trouble."

"Thanks," the dark angel mumbled.

"Got it. So, shoot until it decides to leave," Pit repeated. "You get that, Magnus?"

"Great, but I don't shoot," the warrior replied.

"Maybe it'd be best if he took shelter," Palutena suggested.

"Lady Palutena says you should probably just take shelter somewhere," Pit translated. "We'll deal with this thing."

"Sorry, Angel Face," Magnus shook his head.

"Angel Face?" Dark Pit snorted.

"But I'm not about to sit around and watch when this entire place has been desecrated. I'll watch my own back, and you two do your thing. Deal?"

"Sure," Pit replied quickly and dodged to the side as the Death Incarnate suddenly came hurdling at him, the heat from it knocking his breath away. A charged arrow pierced it and Dark Pit quickly followed up with several weaker shots as Pit dodged back, shooting it as he did so. Magnus tore forward and brought his sword down hard, cutting through their enemy before he quickly retreated. The Death Incarnate turned around and glanced over them, then suddenly unleashed a wave of energy that knocked Pit off his feet. He turned quickly and landed on his side, a sharp pain shooting through his arm.

"Oof," he grunted and jumped back up. "Okay, time to end this. Come on, Flame Face! Come get me!" he raced around the town's center and fired several arrows, his dark partner following his example.

"Do you really need to agitate it?" Magnus inquired curtly as he chased it down. It dodged and spat out two smaller balls of flame, and each quickly proceeded to attack the angels.

"See what you did?" Dark Pit grumbled as he sprinted away from his attacker, shooting it as best he could before he finally gave up and started striking up close. It quickly dissipated and Pit followed, taking down the other as Magnus attacked the Death Incarnate again.

"All right, come on. Let's finish this," Pit rallied. "On the count of three." He readied an arrow. "One..." Dark Pit quickly did the same, leaning back as he aimed. "Two..." Magnus brought his sword to the side. "Three!" Two charged shots struck their target as Magnus's sword smashed through it. It screeched and evaporated.

"Extinguished!" Pit cheered, throwing his free fist into the air.

"Do you have to make a bad joke every time you win a battle?" Dark Pit criticized.

"No, but it's more fun that way."

"Fun?" Magnus repeated in disbelief. "Look around, Angel Face. This town is done." He swept his hand around the area.

"Unfortunately, he's right," Palutena agreed regretfully. "I can't find a single living soul anywhere, aside from you three." Pit's smile faded.

"Magnus..." he mumbled, hanging his head as his heart sunk and his mind processed the severity of the situation. "I'm so sorry." Magnus stared at him for a moment.

"I know, Pit. You did what you could. But I don't think even you could have stopped those Reapers."

"What will you do?" the angel wondered.

"Travel, I guess," he replied. "No point staying here. I'll move on, I guess."

"In the mean time," Dark Pit spoke up. Pit turned to face him as he approached his two comrades, and Palutena's servant blinked as he thought he saw traces of masked grief in the dark angel's red eyes. "We need to find out what the heck these Reapers are doing with all these souls."

"'We?'" Pit repeated. Dark Pit gazed at him seriously.

"We," he confirmed. "I can't just sit around and watch this happen again. Besides, those Reapers came after me as soon as they saw me, and I want to know why." Pit nodded. "So, I don't care how, I'm going to get to the bottom of this." He lifted his head. "With or without you, Viridi."

"If that's the case," Palutena mused. "Pittoo-"

"Seriously, stop calling me that," Dark Pit interrupted.

"I think, if you are going to join this fight on our side, then I believe it's best you come to Skyworld. I would think it'd be easier for us to plan out what we'll be doing, and you can train here with Pit and the Centurions."

"Yeah, I don't think they'd be very welcoming of me," Dark Pit pointed out. "And besides. I can kick Pit's butt with one hand tied behind my back."

"Cannot!" Pit challenged.

"Regardless, the Centurions know you did help rescue me from the Chaos Kin," Palutena reminded him, "And you saved Pit's life. They respect you." Dark Pit blinked.

"Then I guess I'm out of decent arguments," he sighed. "Fine. I'll come."

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be MY angel servant?" Viridi interrupted.

"I'm not your servant," Dark Pit shot back. "I do what I want with who I want."

"Regardless," Palutena continued. "Viridi, I hope I can rely on you to aid us in this fight. I know we'll need your power." Viridi was silent for a few.

"Fine, if the great Palutena needs me," the Goddess of Nature replied sarcastically, "Then I suppose I don't have much of a choice. But you two had better win this!"

"Planning on it," Pit vowed.

"Then let's get you two back here," Palutena decided. Pit nodded and turned to Magnus.

"You sure you'll be okay?" the angel wondered.

"Yeah," Magnus nodded. "I'll figure it out. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you guys."

"We will," Dark Pit promised.

"Pit," Palutena beckoned. "Please, tell Magnus that he has my thanks for everything he's done for us."

"Lady Palutena wants me to extend her thanks to you," Pit told the human. Magnus blinked and looked up.

"Uh, you're welcome, I guess. Just keep up your job." Palutena laughed.

"I plan on it. All right, both of you. Time to come home." Dark Pit approached the white-winged angel, and a bright light shined around them before they both disappeared, leaving Magnus alone.


	3. Chapter III: Home

Within a few moments, the two angels arrived at the gate and entered Palutena's temple. Once his feet touched the floor, Pit immediately hurried away from the entrance and knelt down as he approached his ruling goddess.

"I'm back, Lady Palutena," he announced lightheartedly and looked up to her. She smiled and chuckled a bit.

"Yes, I know," she teased. "I directed you here, remember?" He laughed and got to his feet as she looked past him. "You can come in, you know. You may be here a while, so you might as well make yourself at home." Dark Pit returned her gaze, his crimson eyes unreadable, then slowly approached them.

"Look, I'll do what I need to if it means figuring out what's going on and stopping it," he reminded them, "but that's it. I'm not becoming your puppet- not that you need another one."

"Hey!" Pit protested. "One, I'm not a puppet. Two, you can't talk to Lady Palutena that way!" Palutena raised her hand, silencing him.

"I understand. But," she smiled mysteriously. "By the time this is over, you may just find where you belong. Whether that's here, with Viridi, or out on your own, that will depend on you, Pittoo."

"Okay, seriously," he sighed. "ENOUGH with the whole 'Pittoo' nickname. I couldn't care less as to what you call me, as long as it isn't that." He paused. "And I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Though his face lacked a smile, Pit thought he could see some trace of emotion in his dark look-alike's eyes.

_What is that?_ the white-winged angel wondered. _Understanding? Gratitude? ...Longing?_ He frowned a bit. Despite Dark Pit being a copy of him, he found that the dark angel was the hardest being he'd encountered for him to read. Perhaps he knew Pit would be prying, and found ways to mask what he was feeling- even from the one who'd sparked his creation.

"Well then," Pit scratched his head, trying to clear his mind of it. "What should we call you then? 'Dark Pit' is just kind of awkward, especially if I'm the one saying it." He looked up at Palutena. "Any ideas?" She thought it over.

"Not off the top of my head," she admitted. "But I'll think of something." She smiled at the angels. "I promise." Dark Pit blinked.

"Okay, what's the deal?" he demanded, to Pit's confusion. "When I was... created, I guess, you said yourself that my very existence was unnatural and that I had to be eliminated. But now, not only are you completely accepting that I'm here, but you're treating me just like you would your little servant here." Pit clenched his fists. "So, which is it? Are you okay with me, or do you just want to keep me around so you can use me in this fight? Are you just going to get rid of me when it's over?" Pit stared at him as Palutena remained stunned in silence. "Well?"

"P- Dark Pit," she sighed. "Even that name doesn't seem to fit you anymore. I misjudged you when you first came to be, but I think you did the same to yourself. You thought you needed to defeat Pit. But you, along with the rest of us, realized that you cannot survive without him. It made me realize that you aren't just a dark copy of him: You're a part of him." Pit shifted his weight awkwardly, unsure what to think. "And you've acted on your own accord based on what you think is right. No one made you fight the Chaos Kin. Though you were resentful about it, it was your choice to head to the Rewind Spring to save Pit. No one asked you to retrieve him from Hades. You did all of that on your own." After a moment, he nodded.

"So, you trust me," he concluded, something Pit realized he never would have been able to figure out on his own.

"Not only that," Palutena agreed, "But I also respect you. I've realized that you are your own person, more than anything. Sure," she shrugged, "you do have similar tendencies to Pit, but you don't just do what he does or the opposite. You make your own decisions. You think for yourself."

"You're more like my brother than my reflection," Pit suddenly blurted without thinking about it. Both Palutena and Dark Pit turned to stare at him. Palutena seemed surprised, while Dark Pit was simply struck with disbelief. But, Pit noticed, there wasn't a single trace of hostility in his red eyes. After a few awkward moments, Palutena nodded.

"I think he's right," she finally said. "You two act, bicker, fight, and support each other like brothers." Both angels stared at her, and Pit felt relief surge through him when Dark Pit actually smiled and laughed a bit.

"I guess we do," he replied simply, looking at the blue-eyed angel.

"Yeah," Pit rubbed the back of his neck. "So, anyway, I suppose we should get you situated, show you around, figure out where you'll be staying." Palutena nodded.

"I hope you can handle that, Pit. I need to figure a few things out." He nodded and quickly bowed.

"Understood. Then, if you'll excuse us," he headed toward the large double-doors he'd entered through earlier, beckoning to Dark Pit to follow him. The dark angel did so, and their footsteps echoed off the walls of the temple as they made their way to the entrance.

"So, uh," Pit tried to start a conversation: anything to fill the awkward silence around them. "I... don't think I ever actually got a chance to thank you."

"For what?" Dark Pit wondered rather casually.

"For... saving my butt on multiple occasions," he finally managed to admit. "Both with my wings and the whole thing with Hades." He shivered, the memory of his traversing the lord of the Underworld's bowels still fresh in his mind. Dark Pit smiled a bit and shrugged.

"No you, no me, remember?" he replied. "And besides. Palutena and Viridi both needed you, I guess, and I suppose I've actually come to sort of tolerate you."

"Oh, thanks a lot!" Pit shoved him, grinning. Dark Pit quickly recovered his balance and smirked, humor shining in his eyes. The two chased each other and tumbled down the corridor before finally reaching the exit. Pit readjusted his tunic and laurels before grabbing the handle. Dark Pit took a deep breath, regaining his composure.

"So, you ready?" Pit wondered. After a moment, Dark Pit nodded. Pit smiled and opened the door, letting in a bright light that briefly blinded them both before revealing the great floating islets that made up the homeland of the angels. "Welcome to Skyworld," Pit announced as the dark angel scanned their surroundings. Many of the islets featured simple but elegant architecture, from temples to what merely seemed like gathering spots for the residents. Others were home to endlessly bubbling springs that flowed over the edge of the islet in soft waterfalls, becoming mist among the clouds. Centurions darted between the islets, in and out of sight. "Welcome home," Pit continued.

"...Home," Dark Pit repeated, disbelief evident in his voice as he continued gazing at the islets. After a moment, he shook his head and looked over at Pit. "So... uh, not that you need the reminder, but neither of us can fly by ourselves. So how exactly do we get around?" Pit smiled and laughed.

"Like this." Pit dashed toward the edge of the large islet they were on and shoved himself away from it, spreading his wings as the wind gave him the lift he needed to reach a nearby islet. "Sure, we can't fly," he called back, "but we've still got wings! So, we glide! Updrafts make their way in between the islands. They give you the extra boost. Go ahead," he encouraged. "Try it!" Dark Pit did as the white-winged angel demonstrated, launching himself away from the islet and opening his wings. Sure enough, the winds from below gave him the altitude he needed to join Pit on the next islet. "Woo," Pit grinned. "Good job."

"Ever heard the saying, 'Anything you can do, I can do better?'" Dark Pit smirked.

"Yeah, but it's not like it applies to you," Pit retaliated lightheartedly. He started toward another large islet as the sun began sinking in the sky, making his way through lush, green grasses and clear waters, past the marble and stone structures that dotted the floating landscape that was Skyworld. After passing through what seemed to be a central plaza where a statue of Palutena stood tall, overlooking the rest of the realm, Pit changed direction toward what looked like a temple with Dark Pit following closely.

"So, yeah, this is where I crash," Pit explained, shrugging, then frowned for a moment. "Er... bad choice of words."

"Where you rest, I assume," Dark Pit guessed. Pit nodded.

"Yeah. Come on." The two entered the temple and Pit led the way down its main corridor that branched off to several hallways before he finally reached one toward the end. He ascended up a staircase and stopped in front of a door at the top, then entered and immediately plopped face first into a bed.

"I suppose the Captain would have a decent room," Dark Pit remarked as he glanced around the chamber. It was largely open, with several windows and a skylight that showed the orange-and-red sky streaked with the sun's final rays.

"I guess," Pit's reply was muffled, and he tilted his head up. "So, yeah, this is my place. There's one similar to it on the other side of the main hall, and the last doors at the end lead to a hot spring. I don't go to that one very often, though."

"You? The guy who has to dive in with no questions asked as soon as he sees one?" Dark Pit scoffed. "Unbelievable."

"No, it's not that it's bad or anything," Pit explained. "But it's pretty crowded. The Centurions like a bath every now and again too, you know?" He got to his feet. "Anyway, shall we?" He led the way back downstairs and up another flight on the opposite side of the main corridor, then motioned for Dark Pit to enter.

"Thanks," the dark angel mumbled as he went inside.

"Excuse me?" Pit gasped. "'Thanks?' Who are you and what have you done with P- With Dark Pit?"

"Yeah, you're right," Dark Pit realized. "That does sound weird coming from you." Pit scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"I hope Lady Palutena can come up with something better." Dark Pit nodded in agreement. "Well, anyway, I'll let you get situated, and you know where I am if you need anything."

"Okay." Dark Pit frowned for a moment as Pit turned to leave. "'Night, Pit," he called out.

"'Night," came the angel's reply. Dark Pit meandered over to one of the windows to catch the last few moments of the sunset before he turned to his bed- one of the two or three things in the room itself, along with a table.

_So, this is it,_ he thought to himself. _Is this where I really belong?_ He smiled a bit, unable to deny the strange part of him that felt at home in Skyworld. He stretched for a moment, then pulled off his cuffs and boots, throwing them into a corner before he untied his belt and unclasped his tunic, pulling it off as he sat down on the edge of the bed. After a moment's hesitation that he couldn't explain, he removed his laurel crown from his head and set it down on the table before laying down on his side, gazing out the window before rest managed to take him.


	4. Chapter IV: Name

"Mrph..." came a muffled groan as Dark Pit groggily opened his red eyes and sat up, stretching his shoulders and wings for a moment. Confusion hit him as he scanned his surroundings before remembering the previous day's events: after the Underworld's violent attack on the humans, he'd accompanied Pit to Skyworld so the two angels, along with the goddess Palutena, could better plan their movements against the Underworld Army. He sighed and set his feet on the floor.

"ACK," he might as well have shrieked, his pride in pieces, as the shock of the frigid stone floor hit his bare feet. After recovering from it, he stood and headed over to the window. "Fantastic," he mumbled sarcastically as he saw dark clouds approaching quickly. "That goddess had better not want us to fly in that monster..." Lightning flashed in the distance, and he heard the clap of thunder a few moments later. He stared at it with a stoic expression before he headed over to the corner where he'd stashed his belongings, pulling on his tunic, boots, braces, and finally placing his laurel crown among the even messier than usual black spikes of his hair. He retrieved his Silver Bow and exited the room.

_Wouldn't mind a soak in the Hot Spring,_ he thought to himself, then recalled Pit's explanation of the fact that it was usually rather crowded by Centurions. Hoping to avoid the awkward confrontation with them, he dismissed the idea and headed down the stairs to the great hall, then left the building a few minutes later. A cool breeze met him as soon as he stepped outside, and he could smell rain coming.

"Hey!" came a distant call, and the dark angel looked up to find Pit waving at him from a nearby islet. Pit immediately made his way over to his look-alike, a bright and optimistic grin on his face. "Look who's finally up!"

"Are you always this loud and annoying in the morning?" Dark Pit inquired flatly, rubbing his eye.

"I can be louder," Pit replied, unfazed by Dark Pit's sullen mood. "Anyway, come on. Lady Palutena wants to see you as soon as she can."

"About what?" Dark Pit wondered, not unkindly but still guarded.

"Well, our next move," Pit scratched the back of his head, "And your name, I guess." He set off for Palutena's temple.

"Alright..." Dark Pit picked up his pace to catch up with the white-winged angel, hoping not to get lost in the islets that made up Skyworld, and he could practically feel the gazes of the scattered Centurions on him as they went along their way. After passing back through the central plaza, they quickly came across Palutena's temple and entered just as the rain began to fall.

"Sleep well?" Pit wondered as they headed down the main corridor, stretching.

"I guess," Dark Pit replied. "I suppose I was pretty tired after yesterday." He frowned. "But seriously, why would the Underworld be harvesting like this? It doesn't make any sense."

"I hope Lady Palutena can answer that," Pit agreed. "Before another town gets hit like that, we need to put a stop to it."

"It's sick," the dark angel continued. "This really isn't natural. It's just... I don't know. What's the word I'm looking for?"

"Uh..." Pit blinked as they entered the chamber at the end of the corridor. "Not right? Freaky? Uncalled for?"

"Something like that," Dark Pit nodded.

"Are you two having a nice conversation?" Palutena teased them. Pit, with a red face, immediately jerked into a bow while Dark Pit crossed his arms.

"S-Sorry about that, Lady Palutena," Pit stammered.

"No, don't be!" the goddess replied with a warm smile. "I'm just glad you two are talking this casually. It helps prove that neither of you are at the other's throat. Or, at least, not all the time." Both angels blinked as Pit stood up.

"So, anyway," Dark Pit changed the subject. "Pit said you wanted to talk with me?" he prompted. Palutena nodded.

"Yes. First thing's first: Your name." Dark Pit's focus grew, and he uncrossed his arms.

"Yes, what about it?"

"I did some research regarding human languages," she began, "and I think I may have come across something that we can all tolerate from a nation far to the east."

"And that is...?" Pit wondered.

"It's rather simple, but," she looked at the dark angel curiously. "What do you think of 'Kuro?'"

"'Kuro?'" Dark Pit repeated, pondering it.

"To my understanding, it means 'dark,'" Palutena explained. Dark Pit nodded.

"I can live with that," he replied.

"Oh?" Palutena gazed at him. "Is that a smile I see?" Dark Pit drew into himself a bit.

"And now he's all embarrassed!" Pit grinned.

"Just shut up, Pit," the dark angel responded.

"Well, anyway, so... Kuro?" Pit continued.

"I guess I can live with that," Dark Pit confirmed.

"Aw," Pit's grin grew. "He likes it!"

"I'm glad," Palutena smiled. Dark Pit nodded. "Anyway, on to more serious matters." She paused. "I have your next mission for you both. While I'll be using my power to help you fly, Pit, Viridi will be handling your flight, Kuro." The angels nodded. "We won't be messing around this time," she informed them, her smile fading to a grave expression. "You'll be heading back to the Reapers' Fortress. If something happens elsewhere, I'll send the Centurions and Viridi has agreed to deploy her Forces of Nature."

"Straight to the source, huh?" Pit wondered. Palutena nodded. "Alright, we can do that. Right, Kuro?" Dark Pit smirked.

"Of course," the dark angel replied.

"So, what are we doing there?" Pit asked the goddess.

"Much as I know you're not exactly good at sneaking around," she began, "we need to know what the Reapers are up to, whether they have a leader, and what they're doing with the souls they've taken."

"So, reconnaissance mission," Dark Pit guessed.

"Yes," Palutena confirmed. "Do you think you two can handle that?"

"Of course!" Pit said confidently. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

"Very well, then. Are you both ready to go?"

"Wait," Dark Pit held up his hands. "Out in this weather? Seriously?"

"Well, Kuro," she smiled. "I think you'll find that your flight will be just fine." He stared at her, still skeptical, but sighed and let it go.

"Then let's head out!" Pit headed toward the gate with Dark Pit following, and both angels jumped out into the air. Pit's wings immediately took to the air under Palutena's Power of Flight, but the dark angel wasn't quite as fortunate.

"Hey, Viridi!" he called out as he plummeted, trying to stabilize himself. "Wake up!"

"Oh, sorry," Viridi replied, and his wings gained flight. "SOMEone was supposed to tell me when you were leaving."

"Sorry," Palutena apologized.

"No kidding," Dark Pit mumbled, and Pit started laughing. "Hey, it's not funny!"

"No, it really is," Pit grinned and picked up speed.

"So... Kuro, is it?" Viridi inquired.

"Yeah," Dark Pit confirmed.

"Okay, Kuro, are you going to thank me?" the Goddess of Nature continued sarcastically.

"For what? Letting me fall?"

"Look around, dingle brain!" He did so, finally noticing the calm winds, the sun overhead, and the wispy white clouds around them.

"...Oh." At that, Pit only started laughing harder.

"Did you forget that I'm the Goddess of Nature? With Phosphora's help, I can get rid of any storm. All because of your complaining."

"Fine. Thanks," Dark Pit mumbled.

"Uh oh," Palutena spoke up.

"What is it?" Pit asked.

"Underworld monsters are coming to intercept you. Get ready." Both angels readied their bows just as several Monoeyes, Miks, and a Commyloose came up on them.

"You ready?" Dark Pit asked his companion.

"Always!" Pit grinned and fired an arrow, making quick work of a Monoeye. Within several moments, the two made it through the first wave, only to find another waiting for them as they came across the rocky chasms Pit was familiar with from his last trip to the Fortress.

"Alright, be careful, both of you. The less Reapers see you, the better," Palutena cautioned.

"Yes, thank you, Goddess of Obviousness," Viridi scoffed.

"Hey, leave Lady Palutena alone!" Pit argued, and Dark Pit merely shook his head as they went down into the valleys, dodging enemy fire.

"Okay, I see Reapers," the dark angel announced.

"Then let's hope they haven't seen us," Pit agreed as they picked up speed, narrowly missing the rock bridges extending from one face to the other on their sides. "Whoa!"

"Are you trying to flatten us?" Dark Pit demanded.

"I'm sorry, but you two are running out of time, and the faster you go, the less likely the Reapers are to see you," Palutena explained. "Don't worry. We'll take care of you. Right, Viridi?"

"Sure, sure," Viridi agreed.

"That sarcasm doesn't make me feel much better," the black-haired angel mumbled.

"No kidding," Pit laughed as he finished off another creature. "Anyway, we're coming up on the Fortress. You ready?"

"Always," Dark Pit nodded. "Let's do this." The Reapers' Fortress quickly came into view quickly, looming on the horizon as they quickly approached it, and the red gazes of the Reapers grew more numerous.

"Careful!" Palutena reminded them. "You'll have to go in through the front again. Are you both ready?"

"Ready!" Pit confirmed.

"As we'll ever be..." Dark Pit added under his breath, feeling a chill shoot down his spine as they dodged around the Reapers' lines of sight and crashed through the front gate.


	5. Chapter V: Soul-Snatcher

"Oof." Pit collected himself and got slowly to his feet, brushing the dirt off his tunic and shaking himself from the impact of crashing straight through the front door of the Reapers' Fortress. He glanced behind him to find Dark Pit sitting closer to the splintered door, tending to a rather nasty gash on his left arm.

"Uh, are you okay?" Pit wondered, not really sure how to approach the dark angel and his unpredictable moods. Dark Pit looked up to him, his crimson eyes glinting with sarcasm.

"Maybe after you thank me for clearing a stupid path for you," he replied flatly. Pit blinked, then realized his dark look-alike had indeed taken the brunt of the blow to their entry. Pit scratched his head.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Viridi's voice echoed around their heads. "I guess I had you going just a liiiiittle faster than Pit." Dark Pit rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." He stood up. "Either way, we need to start carrying some supplies, or anything really. I mean," he shrugged, losing any hostility that had been radiating off him moments before, "I can handle this, but you never know when something worse will come up."

"Well, I'm not exactly planning on smashing through any other fortress entrances," Pit pointed out lightly.

"Neither am I. Anyway," Dark Pit picked up his weapon and started walking, stopping just in front of a guillotine that quickly rose and cut down into their path. "Shall we?" Pit nodded and followed him as they dodged under the guillotines and came to a path overlooking the courtyard of the stone fortress. Down below were dirt, dust, and stones with little in the way of any vegetation to be found save a bare tree in the corner.

"This way," Pit took the lead and headed into an interior path to their right.

"Careful," Palutena warned as he stopped in his tracks, Dark Pit running into him, as a red beam streamed down the path. "There's a Reaper creeping around in there."

"Then..." Dark Pit frowned. "What do we do? Should we avoid it or take it out?"

"I'd say take it out," Pit replied. "If we do, then that's one less Reaper to worry about, right?"

"I wish I could say you two are on to something," Palutena began, gaining a groan from the dark-winged angel. "But it isn't that simple. Reapers are masters of death. Sure, you may be able to temporarily take one down, but it will return shortly after. Neither of you possess the means of actually killing one, and I'm not even sure if that's possible in the first place."

"So, 'killing' it would just make it mad," Pit summarized.

"Right. So, I suggest you just try to slip past without being seen." Pit nodded.

"Understood. Thanks, Lady Palutena," he said as the Reaper turned and headed back toward their exit. He bolted over to another branch from the main path and sidled up to the wall as best he could with his companion joining him within moments. After waiting for the Reaper to lumber by again, they hurried to the path's exit and headed through the wooden door. The duo ended up back outside, and Pit pointed to a soft incline that curved up to another door. "Over there." However, before they could go any further, a group of Underworld monsters appeared, including one that haunted Pit's dreams, and he dashed out of the way as it readied its attack. "WATCH O-" His warning, unfortunately, came too late as he found himself staring at an overgrown eggplant with legs.

"What the-" the eggplant, otherwise known as Dark Pit, started sprinting around frantically. Pit fired several shots at the Eggplant Wizard, then turned his attention to the Monoeyes and a turtle-like monster attacking. After a moment, Dark Pit regained his usual form.

"Okay, that veggie freak is going down." With a quick dash and a hard slash, he took the Eggplant Wizard down in a fit of rage before finishing off the last of the monsters.

"Let's try to avoid becoming food," Pit laughed a bit uneasily as they headed up the incline. "Hey, the grind rail is still here!" With a grin, he jumped onto it with Dark Pit following close behind. "Woo!" He paused. "I wonder why the Reapers haven't torn this down."

"Maybe they like riding it," Dark Pit suggested. Pit laughed at the thought as they ended up in the main courtyard and headed through the main doors that led them to a stone corridor.

"I'm surprised it's this quiet," Pit mumbled as they turned a corner and, after dealing with a pair of Miks, headed through the next door.

"Maybe they're busy elsewhere?" Dark Pit shrugged.

"I'm not sure," Palutena told them. "Just be careful. You may have an ambush waiting for you up ahead."

"Got it." They headed through a large stone room before coming to another passage featuring a bridge and two swinging blades overhead. "Okay, so... don't fall. That'd be bad," he warned his companion. "There's probably monsters, along with all the spikes and bottomless pits..."

"Right, I get it," Dark Pit sighed. "Let's just go before something else decides to pop up." Pit ran ahead and dodged around the blades, but his partner wasn't so lucky. "Whoa!" Though he dodged the blade, he landed on the lower level with a thud, and Pit winced as he heard him squabble with several monsters before finding a jump pad and making it back to the bridge. On his second attempt, he finally joined the white-winged angel on the other side.

"Are you okay?" Pit wondered. Dark Pit nodded.

"Yeah. Let's get moving." They proceeded into another small passage lit by blue torches. "Okay..." Dark Pit sighed. "Everything is starting to look alike."

"I guess the Reapers don't really care about interior design," Pit joked as they went through the next door and ended up back outside. The platform they were on featured a jump pad in the center and a door on the side opposite them. "Uh... okay..." Pit frowned. "Um..."

"Forgetting something?" Dark Pit inquired.

"Pit, they'll both take you to where you need to go. Just pick one," Palutena reminded him.

"Right." Pit stepped onto the jump pad and ended up on a balcony overhead. "Oof!" He crumpled to the ground as a heavy weight landed on him. "Hey, Kuro! Watch it!" he protested. "Get off!"

"Oh." Dark Pit scrambled up and held out his hand. The two angels grabbed each others' wrists and the dark angel helped his comrade to his feet. "Well, next time, get out of the way!"

"Yeah, yeah," Pit sighed, and they went through the next door.

"Watch out for Reapers," Palutena informed them.

"Got it." Pit scrambled past the first and jumped up onto a loft above them with Dark Pit close behind, and he fired several shots to take out the boxes in their path. He jumped down again as the second Reaper passed and headed to the door, and Dark Pit dodged quickly out of the Reaper's line of sight. Once they were in the next room, Pit could hear the dark angel's heart hammering.

"You need a moment?" he wondered. Dark Pit shook his head.

"No. The sooner we're out of here, the better." Pit stared at him for a moment, then dropped down the hole on the other side of the room and headed through the door, only to be ambushed by a group of Handoras along with an Octos shooting rings of smoke at him.

"Is it me, or do those things look kind of like Octoroks from the-"

"Why do you always have to do that?" Viridi interrupted him from nowhere. "Stop trying to spread rumors!"

"Okay, okay," Pit grumbled as he defeated it and a Handora. "Sorry." Once their adversaries were down, the angels headed up the grind rail to the upper level.

"This place is huge," Dark Pit noted. "Why do the Reapers need so much space?"

"Beats me," Pit replied. "Let's go." They headed through the door and came to an elevator. The two angels stared at it for a moment.

"Okay, what was the point of going up if we were just going to go back down again?" Dark Pit inquired, but got no answer. They headed down, and Pit grinned as he raced into a room to their left.

"Where are you going?" the dark angel demanded, but silently withdrew the question as Pit dove straight into a Hot Spring.

"Ah..." Pit sighed happily. "That's the stuff." He looked over to his comrade. "Come on! It's perfect." Dark Pit rolled his eyes and entered the Spring. "Hey, your arm!" Pit pointed out. The red-eyed angel inspected his injury, only to find it healing quickly until it was little more than a faded scratch.

"Okay, I guess it is helpful," Dark Pit admitted.

"Told ya," Pit grinned. "You ready to get going?" Dark Pit nodded and they returned to the main path, then headed through an open gate.

"Judging from the evil lighting, I'm guessing we're almost there," the dark angel pointed out.

"Probably," Pit laughed, and they headed into the next chamber, only to be greeted by several Reapers staring right at them.

"Well," Dark Pit blinked. "This doesn't look good." Both angels readied their weapons as the Reapers flailed about, and two disappeared just as the third grew to gigantic proportions.

"This guy again?" Pit demanded. "Fine, whatever. Let's do this!" He scanned the area, finding that it hadn't changed since his last visit. "Kuro!"

"What?" Dark Pit asked quickly as he dodged the Great Reaper's scythe.

"I'll attack from the second floor if you'll cover down here. Its head is its weak point, but it'll help impede it if you're down here. Plus, it's probably too stupid to know how to deal with two targets."

"Sounds good," Dark Pit shot a charged arrow at the monster's chest as Pit raced up the stairs and aimed at its head.

"Careful, both of you," Palutena warned. "There's something... different about this Reaper. I don't think it's going to be quite the same since the last time you fought."

"What do you mean?" Pit wondered as he fired another arrow.

"I mean it may have some new tricks," she replied.

"Okay," Pit nodded and raced up to the edge to get a better shot.

"Argh!" Dark Pit let out a grunt of pain as the Reaper suddenly kicked him, sending him flying back.

"You okay down there?" Pit called.

"Ow..." Dark Pit mumbled and dodged the rays coming from the Reaper's eyes as he recovered himself. "Yeah, but this thing is ticking me off. Let's finish it!"

"With pleasure!" Pit agreed as he fired another arrow and hit the Reaper right in the eye. It rocked back, clutching its head with its free hand, as one of Dark Pit's shots went up and scored again.

Pit found himself shivering, however, as a chill he couldn't explain gripped the air around him. The Reaper began to vanish, leaving behind nothing but a pale purple light on the ground floor of the chamber and slowly rose up toward the ceiling.

"Finished!" he grinned, and Dark Pit looked up to him with a humorous smile.

"Isn't that your thing?" he wondered. Pit chuckled and shrugged again as he headed toward the stairs.

Before he could do anything, though, the light from the Reaper came shooting down, and it pierced straight through the dark angel. Dark Pit let out a nearly soundless grunt, his red eyes wide and his pupils impossibly small as something reappeared from the light next to him, taking the shape of what appeared to be a Reaper, but a type Pit had never seen before. The Reaper extended one wispy hand and some sort of soft light emerged from his target as Dark Pit was lifted briefly off his feet.

"K..." Pit couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Kuro!" he cried out and jumped off the second floor platform just as the dark angel collapsed to the ground and the Reaper disappeared. "Oh no..." Pit gasped, his heart pounding as a chill shot down his spine. "No, no, no, no..." he kept repeating as he skidded to a halt and crouched down next to his dark look-alike's unmoving body. "Kuro!" he called out again, setting his bow down and propping the dark angel up in his arms, shaking him gently. "Come on, Kuro! Wake up! Open your eyes," he pleaded. "You can't... you're not..." he found himself lost for words as disbelief still gripped him, but Dark Pit didn't respond and his body was completely limp. "Kuro..." Pit bowed his head for a moment.

"Pit?" Palutena's voice echoed in his head. "Is... do you... Did the Reaper get away?"

"Y-yeah," Pit admitted, his voice strangled.

"All right... let's get you back. We'll try to figure this out, but I need to see him." Pit nodded as a light enveloped him and Dark Pit's body, taking them back to Skyworld.


	6. Chapter VI: Rescue

Pit sat outside Palutena's chamber with his back to the wall, his wings drooping over his shoulders, and his head in his hands as he tried to process everything that had happened so suddenly. For reasons he couldn't understand, Palutena had regretfully shooed him away once he'd brought Dark Pit's body back to her temple with the help of a Centurion Strongarm, saying that she needed to inspect him and that he was interfering. He'd done everything he could to stay out of her way, but somehow his efforts hadn't been enough. Now, every passing moment felt like a lifetime as he kept coming to the same conclusion that he didn't want to admit. He swallowed the lump in his throat once again, pulling his legs up against his chest tightly.

"Pit?" Palutena's voice reached his ears as she opened the doors to her chamber. He looked up to her quickly. "Alright, it's okay for you to come in now." He jumped to his feet and followed her back inside. Using her powers, Palutena had created a place for the dark angel to the side of the room where he now lay as she and Pit approached him.

"What is it? What happened?" Pit stammered, tripping over his words. Palutena rested her hand on Dark Pit's forehead, brushing his black bangs away. His wings were gently folded under him and his golden laurel crown rested next to him, and he didn't respond to her touch.

"Pit..." she began, "You've probably already guessed this, but the Reaper that attacked you stole his soul." Pit choked again and blinked back the hot water stinging his eyes. He couldn't fight the truth he already knew any longer.

"So... he's..." he mumbled, not wanting to finish his thought.

"Well," Palutena sighed, and her servant looked at her, confused by her dumbfounded expression. "He's... he's not really alive. But he's not dead either."

"Huh?" Pit felt a glimmer of hope spark to life in his heart. "Lady Palutena? What do you mean?" The goddess returned his gaze.

"I mean... I've never seen anything like this. He truly has lost his soul. But something else seems to be keeping his life force tethered to his body. Though he won't wake without his soul, he's still... functioning, to some extent."

"Can we save him?" Pit asked eagerly, and felt his hope break at her silence.

"There may be a way," she finally replied. "But... Pit, it's going to be incredibly dangerous, and we may not be able to pull it off."

"I'll try anything!" the angel told her sincerely. "I won't just let him die!" Palutena placed her hand on his shoulder, calming him.

"I know," she agreed. "But Pit, you must understand that this... there are so many things that can go wrong. If something happens to you, I won't be able to pull you out."

"Please, tell me," he pleaded. "Whatever it takes. I'll do it." Palutena shut her eyes for a moment.

"Do you remember the City of Souls?" she finally asked him.

"Huh?" Pit tilted his head to the side.

"The spring where you woke up after the battle with the Chaos Kin," she elaborated.

"Ah, yeah," Pit recalled. "What about it?"

"That spring, the Rewind Spring, is located in a part of the City of Souls. That city is where souls make their final passage into death, or back into life. Kuro's soul may be there. But..." she paused. "The Reapers were after him specifically, and I'm still not sure why. Even before you went to their Fortress, they attacked him before you arrived in the town." Pit nodded.

"But why him?" he wondered.

"I don't know," Palutena admitted. "But if you go to the City of Souls, you may be able to retrieve it before it ends up as part of whatever the Underworld Army is using all the souls they've captured for. But Pit... once you enter the depths of the City, I won't be able to aid you, or even speak with you. You'll be on your own, and I won't be able to extract you until you make it back out." Pit blinked as he processed what she was telling him.

"I can handle it," he finally promised. "I'll be careful. And..." he turned his gaze toward the unconscious dark angel. "I'll bring him back."

"Hm..." Palutena smiled a bit. "Nothing I say will change your mind, will it? Even if I didn't help you get there, you would find a way to walk."

"Yeah," Pit agreed, forcing something of a smile.

"Alright. But remember, the City of Souls is in the Underworld. Equip yourself well and be ready for trouble. And..." She waved her staff gently and a pale blue crystal of sorts appeared, dropping into his hands. "Take that with you. Once you find Kuro's soul, use this to capture it. That will ensure you don't lose it somehow on your way back. That will only release it when it comes into contact with his body." Pit nodded.

"Okay. Thanks, Lady Palutena. And I promise I'll return with him. Whatever the Underworld is planning, we'll put a stop to it."

"About that," Palutena stopped him. "Please understand that the only reason I can allow this is because stealing his soul was completely unjustified. The Reapers have stepped out of their bounds and upset the natural order of things. We must set things right."

"Understood," Pit dipped his head. "So, no meddling in natural affairs."

"Right," she smiled. "Very well, then. The sooner you leave, the less likely you'll be to encounter problems."

"I'm ready to go," he replied and headed for the gate. "What else do I need than your bow?"

"If you're certain," Palutena readied her staff and the gate opened. Pit looked to his fallen companion and felt his determination burn brighter.

_I'm not coming back without you,_ he thought silently, then leapt out into the air as his wings were bestowed with the Power of Flight and he found himself down in softly lit darkness that he recognized as the Underworld.

"I got you as close as I could, but you have a bit of a way to go," Palutena informed him. "We'll likely be pushing the limits of the Power of Flight."

"We'll get there," Pit assured her as he picked up speed, dodging around crumbling rocks as the first wave of monsters appeared to block his path.

"I can't believe you guys are doing this again!" Viridi spoke up.

"Hey, we've got a good reason," Pit replied as he shot down a Monoeye and dodged a Handora's fire from the cliffside.

"Something has upset the balance of life and death again. You know that, Viridi," Palutena agreed.

"Whoa, I never said I was against it," Viridi said defensively. "I get it. We need Kuro. And anyway, the Reapers and the Underworld wiped out another town."

"They... they did?" Pit asked carefully, regret hitting him hard.

"They did," Viridi confirmed. "I tried sending my Forces after them, but they were too strong. They're almost as destructive as you."

"This really isn't the time," Pit shot back as he dodged several other monsters, including an Orne coming up quickly on him. He ducked under the rocks again as several glowing blue columns came into his view.

"This is the City of Souls," Palutena informed him. "Be careful. Whatever they're doing, the Underworld Army probably doesn't want you interfering."

"I know," Pit replied. "Don't worry, Lady Palutena. I'll return to you successful in my mission." He scanned the new environment, unable to ignore the chilled awe he felt.

"Going down," Palutena announced, and he dove under the arches, following a path crawling with monsters. After maneuvering around several pale trees and the blue-washed architecture of the City of Souls, a large structure featuring a single entrance came into his view.

"That's your destination," Viridi told him. "And, Pit, I guess we do kind of need you. Try not to get your butt kicked, all right?" Pit sighed and smiled a bit.

"Thanks, Viridi. I'll do my best."

"All right, Pit," Palutena took a deep breath. "As soon as you enter, I'll lose contact with you. Once you find Kuro's soul, head straight out. Once you're outside, I'll be able to pull you out."

"Understood," Pit nodded as he quickly approached the entrance.

"Okay, three, two, one... Take care, Pit!" Pit tucked in and landed rolling, stopping himself once he was inside. He stood up and brushed himself off, scanning the interior of wherever he was.

"Lady Palutena?" he called, but she didn't reply. "Lady Palutena?" he tried again. No answer. "Viridi?" he wondered, but couldn't receive a response from the Goddess of Nature either. "Guess I really am on my own," he mumbled to himself. "Again." The last thing he wanted to think about was his experience with Hades's... insides. The angel shook his head and started on his way, but quickly found himself on what seemed to be a glass platform overlooking a large, open expanse of darkness with a single white light emitting from the side opposite his. "I suppose I should go there," he said to no one in particular as he started searching for a way down. "Okay, Pit. Come on. Let's not start the whole talking to yourself thing again." He blinked as he processed his own words. "I mean... AGH." Had his stress not been through the roof, he may have started laughing at himself. Instead, he found a doorway to his left and proceeded to it.

The "door" blocking him didn't move as he approached, but rather simply faded from existence as he passed and came back once he was through. He shuddered to think any of the souls that came to this strange city acted in the same way. He tightened his grip on his bow and headed down a declining ramp, stopping as he peered around the corner to find absolutely nothing. The eerie silence only increased his stress levels.

"This is their territory. They've got to know I'm here," he thought aloud. "So, why haven't they shown themselves yet?" He frowned and scratched his head. "I figured they'd be all over stopping me." He sighed. "Oh well. Might as well use the peace while I've got it." He crept out carefully and on high alert and continued down the path through the dim blue lighting that seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at once, and he found himself in the expanse of darkness once he went through the next doorway.

"Ah, there you are!" he smiled as a Monomikose came down, followed by several Octos and a pair of spirit-like enemies he couldn't recall encountering in his previous adventures. After dodging the fire from the Monomikose and the rings of smoke from the Octos, the angel dashed back and fired several shots that quickly defeated the former. After dodging again, he took down the Octos, but found a searing pain overtaking his body as soon as he did and he fell to the ground in shock. After a moment, he grunted and recovered himself, finding the strange spirits revolving around him. They had no definite form and faded in and out of light. He rolled his eyes and fired several arrows, but found he did absolutely no damage. "Okay, fine." He sprinted forward and slashed his bow straight through one of the spirits, effectively causing it to dissipate. Unfortunately, the searing pain took over his body again, and he fought back against it as he felt heat blast against his back. He turned around, only to have the remaining spirit revolve around him to try to get at his back again. Finally, he made the connection.

"You're aiming for my wings!" he realized. "Okay, I'm not going through that again." He raced toward the spirit. "Back OFF!" With a dashing attack, he took out the spirit and straightened himself up, inspecting his shoulders and wings as best he could for damage. After finding nothing worth complaining about, he set his sights on the white light on the other end of the expanse and started walking at a decent pace toward it. "Whoa!" From nowhere, glass-like walls shot up from the ground, blocking him. He grumbled and followed the wall to a corner, heading around it toward the next turn.

"It's a maze," he noticed. "Well, anything would be better than Pandora's crazy Labyrinth of Deceit." He chuckled and headed on through the maze, grumbling every time he came to a dead end- something that happened much more frequently than he would have liked. "Come on," he pleaded. "I don't have time for this." He stabbed at the glass with his bow and felt pain in his arms from the impact that caused him to back up several paces. The glass, on the other hand, wasn't even chipped or cracked, as if he hadn't hit it. "Wonderful." He let out a slow breath and continued finding his way through the maze, and he immediately started cheering as he finally made his way out on the side where the white light was located. Unfortunately, to Pit's annoyance, another spirit was waiting for him. "You all really enjoy making my life difficult, huh?" He raced at it and took it out fairly easily. Once it was gone, he knelt down in an attempt to catch his breath before jumping into the hole emitting the white light.

"WhoooooOOOOAH!" After a fall longer than anything he'd anticipated, he landed on another floor overlooking what seemed like a pool. Around its perimeter and to his caution, there were several Reapers like the one that had stolen Dark Pit's soul along with the spirits he'd been fighting. The pool itself was emitting a faded white light, and it was swirling up like the opposite of a whirlpool. Pit bit his lip.

"What the heck is this?" he demanded, some surprise surfacing in his mind as he realized neither the Reapers nor the spirits were moving to strike him.

"Why..." a powerful voice suddenly started echoing around in his head, and his face screwed up in confusion. "I'd recognize the owner of that pathetic soul anywhere!" Pit blinked, trying to place where he'd heard the voice before.

"Who are you?" he yelled.

"I'm hurt," the voice protested as it dripped with mock sincerity. "Surely you haven't forgotten me so quickly, eh, Pitty Pat?" Pit's eyes widened as the familiar nickname matched up with the voice in his head, but the results he was getting were...

"Impossible," he muttered. "No way." He stared at a rising soul that was multicolored- reds, greens, and blues being the most prominent in it and couldn't believe what conclusion he'd come to. "H-Hades?"


	7. Chapter VII: Return

Pit stared at the prominently colored soul as it seemed to gaze back. It had no definite shape, but only moved around itself in small streams around a corrupted center that pushed and pulled the streams about. Could this truly be the great soul of the lord of the Underworld? He couldn't help but believe it to be true.

"I'm so glad you remember me, Pitty," Hades's voice echoed around the cavern, and his soul pulsed gently. "I must say I missed our bantering as you whisked your way about our world in attempt to defeat me."

"But I DID defeat you!" Pit argued, still dumbfounded.

"To some extent, I'll admit you did," Hades scornfully agreed. "But Pitty, have you forgotten again that your dear friend Hades is a god? And gods cannot be brought down so easily, especially not at the hands of such a puny little angel."

"Errgh," Pit growled, trying to wrap his head around what he'd uncovered. "But... Hades!" he spat.

"Pit!" The lord of the Underworld responded.

"Hades!"

"Pit!"

"Hadeeeeeees..."

"Piiiiiiit..."

"Okay, seriously?" Pit crossed his arms, gripping his bow in one hand. "Are we really going through this again?"

"It seems to have become a staple of our encounters," Hades jested. "Wouldn't you agree, Pitty Pat?" Pit didn't reply.

"What are you doing? Is this why the Underworld Army has been collecting so many souls?" he demanded.

"Ah, that slipped my mind. You were unconscious and I looked forward to fried angel wings for dinner, but your little friend Pitooey-"

"Kuro," Pit corrected without a second thought.

"Pardon?" Hades inquired.

"Kuro. That's what we're calling him now."

"I see," Hades chuckled. "He couldn't handle 'Pittoo' any longer, could he?" Pit didn't reply, but merely grit his teeth. "Regardless, you missed the conversation regarding souls after your quite daring rescue attempt. You see, you despised me for eating those delicious souls, did you not?"

"Absolutely," Pit spat. "It's sick."

"Well, you missed the part about souls themselves. They're moldable to any shape or form imaginable. How do you think I got so many of my minions?" Pit blinked as he put the pieces together.

"You... you were using souls to craft monsters?" he yelled. "How could you do such a thing?"

"Well, it was either that, or let them crowd my Underworld," Hades replied simply. "However, I've found a new use for them now." Pit clenched his jaw.

"You..." he glanced around the tirelessly working Reapers and spirits. "You're making yourself a new body!"

"I'm impressed you managed to figure it out, little angel," Hades taunted, and Pit's eyes widened. "And Pitooey's delectably strong soul makes for a perfect favor to my homecoming party. I simply HAD to have him in my collection."

"No!" Pit argued.

"And, though it may be hard to imagine, I can promise you that my new body will be quite perfected- not an easy task, considering what I used to be."

"You can't do that!" Pit accused, pointing his bow at Hades's soul.

"And who, pray tell, is going to stop me?" The lord of the Underworld inquired. "You?"

"Yes, me!" Pit's anger only intensified as Hades just laughed at him.

"Is that so? Well, Pitty, it would be quite a pleasure to have you in my collection as well. But... I think I'll let you have a little fun first."

"Whoa!" With that, Pit's footing suddenly disappeared and he plummeted, landing in a frigid cavern with a thud a moment later. "Ow..." He got himself to his feet. "Wh-oa!" The ground suddenly shook under him, knocking him off balance. He stumbled over to the edge of the rock face he was on and looked down into flames that nearly knocked him off his feet. From its depths, a large shape rose to reveal a skull-faced Reaper gripping a scythe that matched its giant size. Over its dark robe was a chain crossing a belt that held some sort of bag behind it. Is glared at him in hostility, and he swallowed his rising fear.

"Okay, bone bag, you know why I'm here," the angel shouted. "And I'm not leaving until I get him back!"

"Then I suppose you just won't be leaving at all, dear Pitty," Hades taunted. "Do try to make this interesting, will you? It gets so boring around here, just watching my minions toil at their work. I haven't watched a good fight in quite some time." Pit trembled with rage and took a deep breath to steady his bow as he aimed at the Reaper. Before he could even ready an arrow, however, it swung its scythe at him and knocked him back by quite a distance, and he landed with a sickening thud. Stunned, he simply lay there as he processed the fact that he was still alive, then came to the realization that the scythe was so big, it couldn't cut him.

"Oof... Ow..." he heaved himself to his feet with a grunt of effort and readied his bow again, letting a charged shot go that connected on the Reaper's head. It glared at him and brought its scythe up again, and he sprinted to the side as he fired again. Unfortunately, its range was larger than he'd anticipated, and throbbing pain shot through his body as was sent flying back.

"That certainly looked like it hurt, Pitty Pat. Are you okay?" Hades asked with mock tenderness.

"Just... fine," Pit stood up again and spat out something that tasted warm, salty, and rusty.

_If I weren't an angel, I'd already be finished,_ he thought to himself and, ignoring the protesting pain in his limbs, fired another shot toward the Reaper. Though they hit home, it didn't even flinch and summoned several spirits to aid it in the fight.

"Oh, come on!" Pit yelled. "Is that really necessary?"

"Wouldn't want you getting bored," Hades responded. Pit ignored him and dodged the fiery attacks of the spirits, focusing on the Reaper as he dashed forward and shot it.

"Hrm..." Pit processed an idea as the Reaper swung its scythe at him, and he continued sprinting forward as he ducked under the handle. With grim satisfaction, he fired again, only to be hit in the back by the spirits.

_"If something happens to you, I won't be able to pull you out."_ Palutena's words echoed around his head as a blast of energy from the Reaper knocked him down again, and he felt genuine fear surface in him for the first time since he'd arrived. As the Reaper positioned its scythe and aimed its tip directly at him, he squinted his eyes shut.

"Lady Palutena, I'm so sorry..." he mumbled and prepared himself for the worst.

"What the-?" Hades's dumbfounded shout, along with a sudden brightness, roused him, and he got himself on his feet again as he watched some sort of blue orb of light came flying through the cavern, striking the Reaper before hurdling down to him and stopping for a moment, as if it was inspecting him, and finally it sunk into his bow.

"Uh... Okay..." He shrugged. and regretted it almost instantly as pain shot through his shoulders. As he grit his teeth, he looked up at the Reaper to find some sort of soft green ball escape from where the light had hit it, and Pit felt something in him try to pull out at the sight of it. It hit him instantly. "Kuro!" he cried out. "Hang on! I just need a moment longer!"

"Well, this is unexpected," Hades admitted. "Don't let him anywhere near that soul! Get rid of him! Don't let that angel set foot outside this shrine!"

"Shrine, huh?" Pit aimed at the Reaper and, with a deep breath, let his arrow go. Perhaps with the added power of the strange light that had come to his aid, it pierced straight through the Reaper and stunned it. He took advantage of the moment and pulled out the crystal-like thing Palutena had given him, holding it aloft. Temporarily freed from the Reaper's grasp, the green ball descended to his level. Pit blinked as he watched it, the tug in him suddenly turning to sharp pain, before the crystal absorbed it. To his confusion, the pain disappeared immediately, and he turned around before he sprinted toward the cavern's exit.

"See you later, Hades!" he called as he blasted away the rubble blocking his path, and the spirits summoned by the Reaper quickly gave chase.

"Sooner than you think, Pitty," the lord of the Underworld replied confidently. Pit, knowing he didn't have the time to think about Hades's words, shook his head and fought through his exhaustion as his body screamed at him that he needed to slow down, stop, rest. He ignored it as he dodged his pursuers up the blue glass inclines of the shrine.

"Come on," he gasped. "Almost... there..." he could see the light of the shrine's entrance ahead and pushed the last of his energy to its furthest extent, and tripped as he made it to his destination. "Lady Palutena!" he cried out breathlessly.

"Pit?" came her response. "Pit!" without another word, her light enveloped him as she brought him back to Skyworld.

Once he reached her temple, he felt relief surge through him before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.


	8. Chapter VIII: A Bond

"Pit..." He heard a voice calling his name through the darkness.

_Five more minutes,_ he thought groggily.

"Pit!" The voice called again. "Can you hear me?"

_Yes, I can hear you,_ he responded silently. The voice called his name again and again. _What? I'm right here!_ he growled, getting annoyed. _What do you want?_

"Pit, please. Wake up..."

_Wake up?_ he repeated. _Oh. I guess I should..._

"Mrgh..." The angel groaned as he shifted and opened his eyes slowly, blinking in the bright light. "Wh...where am I?" he asked hoarsely.

"Thank goodness you're alright," the voice that woke him said. "You're back in Skyworld. I'm not sure when exactly you passed out, but you're home, and you're safe." He looked up and found himself lying in a Hot Spring somewhere in what he recognized to be Palutena's temple. The goddess herself was on her knees, washing the water over his arms and head, and her eyes were full of relief. At once, his full consciousness came rushing back to him.

"L-Lady Palutena!" He jerked back. "Brlph..." He gasped as he came back up for air. "I-I'm sorry! I can tend to my own... er..." Despite his words, he found he was fine- as always, the Hot Spring's waters had cleansed him of his injuries, and he felt optimistically refreshed. "Um... Th-thank you, Lady Palutena." She smiled as she stood up.

"I can't be losing my captain, now can I? If something happened to you, I'd have nothing but Centurions standing between me and trouble. And we both know how that would go." She laughed and Pit chuckled a bit as he got out of the water. He cut himself off, however, as he recalled his previous mission and everything he had uncovered. After a moment of panic, he pulled the crystal holding Dark Pit's soul out and showed it to Palutena.

"I said I would bring it back," he smiled a bit, though a foreboding feeling crept up on him as he thought about his encounters in the City of Souls.

"Indeed, you did," she nodded. "Then, we shouldn't delay any longer, should we?" He shook his head and followed her out to her chamber, where the dark angel still lay unconscious. Pit bit his lip and approached him cautiously. After a moment, he held the crystal over his companion and it shattered, to his shock. The soul formerly contained inside it disappeared as it fell to its owner, and Dark Pit's red eyes opened after a moment. He bolted up quickly, scanning his surroundings with obvious confusion before his gaze fell on Pit and Palutena.

"Welcome back, Kuro," the goddess greeted him. He blinked and slid off the place he'd been lying on.

"What..." He dropped his gaze to his hands. "What happened to me?"

"Your soul was stolen," Palutena replied simply. "Pit went to the City of Souls to get it back. As you can tell, he was successful." Pit scratched the back of his head.

"You fought off that giant Reaper?" Pit nodded and smiled a bit. "And those spirits?" At that, his smile faded.

"Yeah," he replied slowly. "How... how did you know about them?" Dark Pit massaged his forehead.

"I... I don't know," he admitted. "I just... it was in my memory. I saw it, somehow. But at the same time... Ergh," he groaned. "What is with me?"

"I think I have an explanation," Palutena caught their attention. "And I believe both of you will want to hear it." Dark Pit crossed his arms, but his eyes showed no trace of hostility. Just curiosity. "Pit, tell me. When you came into contact with his soul, did you feel anything?" Pit thought back to his harrowing battle.

"Yes," he nodded. "It was odd. When I first saw it, I felt like something in me was trying to get out. When it came close enough for me to capture it, that whatever inside me started hurting. Like... whatever it was, it wanted to reach out to his soul. It was really odd."

"Then I think my theory is indeed the case," she informed them. "Do you remember back when you were in Pandora's Labyrinth of Deceit? When you found out about the Mirror of Truth, you asked whether it duplicated the original's soul as well as its body." Pit nodded. "And I don't think we ever got a straight answer. But... I think, at least in the case of you two..." she paused. "When Kuro was created, I think the Mirror's power actually strengthened your soul, Pit, giving it the ability to sustain two separate entities. That would explain why you, Kuro, ended up unconscious when Pit's soul was severed from his body by the Chaos Kin. In short, you two both bear the same soul." Pit blinked and exchanged an awed glance with the dark angel.

"So... wait. What exactly does that mean?" Dark Pit asked.

"You two share a bond deeper than any other," Palutena explained. "Death itself is unable to claim only one of you, as long as one of you is around to retrieve the other's part. Even if the Reapers got to you, the other's soul seems to keep you sustained until your part is returned."

"Wow..." Pit mumbled.

"So, is that why I knew about the spirits?" Dark Pit inquired.

"Something along those lines," Palutena replied. "You see, while you were unconscious, Kuro, I could sense that Pit was in serious danger fighting the Reaper. I couldn't do anything to help him, and I was afraid I was going to lose him. But... you, or more your body, ended up releasing some sort of energy that quickly left this temple."

"That must have been that light that powered up my bow," Pit realized. Dark Pit stared at the air in front of him.

"Well, alright then." He unfolded his arms. "So... The doofus here and I have the same soul. As long as it isn't completely severed from us, it's almost impossible to kill off only one of us. Am I right?"

"Yes," Palutena confirmed.

"Woo!" Pit grinned. "Look out, Underworld!"

"BUT," Palutena added, "we can't let the Underworld's forces figure this out. They'd likely use it against us, stealing one of you and using your soul as bait for the other. You'll still need to use caution."

"Speaking of which," Pit's smile faded and he became quite serious. "Lady Palutena, while I was in the City of Souls, I found out what they're doing."

"Really?" he could feel Palutena's interest zero in on him. "Go on, then."

"They're building a new body for Hades," he announced somewhat bluntly. "His soul is still entirely in tact, and he's using the ones he's stolen to create a new vessel for it." Palutena took a deep breath.

"That explains so much," she pondered. "So, if Hades gets many more souls, then..."

"He could be unstoppable," Dark Pit finished. "We have to put an end to this before that happens."

"Agreed," Pit nodded. "But... how?" The three were silent as they thought over their options.

"You'll have to fight," she said. "But... I wonder if Lord Dyntos would be willing to aid us. If you're going up against Hades and, essentially, the entire Underworld, then you'll need some new weapons, considering what happened to the Great Sacred Treasure."

"Boom," Dark Pit mused.

"Yeah..." Pit scratched his head.

"In the mean time, we need to protect the humans and figure out just what it is Hades actually wants."

"Understood," Pit nodded. "But... Lady Palutena?" He straightened himself up, and heard Dark Pit mumble a quick "here we go" under his breath. "I understand that it's ultimately your decision, but, as captain of your guard and a leader in your army, I do have a request." Palutena nodded.

"Of course, Pit. What is it?" she wondered, her eyes soft. Pit swallowed.

"I think it's best that, given the current situation, the Centurions shouldn't be deployed to the Overworld. If and when our forces need to get involved, just send us." He gestured to both himself and his dark look-alike standing a short ways away. "Uh, right?" he asked. Dark Pit rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Right," he sighed. "Whatever. You know this is personal now. They attacked me, I fight back. I don't exactly appreciate things messing with my soul." Pit nodded and turned his attention back to Palutena.

"But... anyway, you and I are both well aware of the... capabilities of the Centurions. Given what we're dealing with, not only could we take blow after blow to our numbers, but we'd probably be helping the Underworld and their cause." Palutena listened carefully, her eyes deep in thought. "I mean, if they somehow make it here, then we definitely need to have them fight. But otherwise, I think Kuro and I can take care of things." The goddess closed her eyes for a moment.

"You make a good point, Pit," she commended. "If the Underworld forces manage to capture their souls, then they can't be restored." She let out a slow breath. "All right then, Captain. If that's what you think, then so be it. For now, we will keep the Centurions out of offensive battle." She opened her eyes. "But, please understand, Pit. If sacrificing them is what it would take to keep you or Kuro safe, then that's what I'll do. Both Skyworld and the humans need you two above anything else." Dark Pit scratched the back of his head.

"I understand, Lady Palutena." Pit grinned. "And I know I'll be okay as long as you're watching out for me." She smiled.

"I will as long as I'm able to," she replied, and his own smile grew.

"Thank you," he dipped his head. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." she nodded and he turned to leave with Dark Pit following him.

"Oh, Lady Palutena! How my heart cries out for you! How I wish I could escape my duties only long enough to convey my true feelings to you!" Pit felt his face warm quickly. "If only I could shed my being as a lowly angel to become a god worthy of you!"

"Sh-shut up!" the white-winged angel stuttered quickly. Dark Pit stared at him with an amused smirk.

"Man, I've never seen you so flustered," he remarked.

"It's not anything like that and you know it!" Pit argued. "Lady Palutena is my ruling goddess and I'm her servant. I follow her and carry out her commands out of respect and loyalty. She cares about her subjects and Skyworld's well-being and relies on me to make sure they're safe."

"Uh huh." Pit felt his face grow hotter at his look-alike's grin.

"Okay, yes, I care about her. But why wouldn't I? She looks out for me. She trusts me, and I'm honored to have that trust."

"If you say so," Dark Pit shook his head and held up his hands. "But I'm gonna go get in some training before our next 'mission' or whatever. Feel free to join me."

"I owe you a beating after that remark," Pit challenged. Dark Pit grinned again.

"Then it's on." He hurried off toward a platform with Pit hot on his heels.

"Light vs. Dark?" the white-winged angel suggested.

"Sure, that's always fun," Dark Pit chuckled as they exited Palutena's temple.

The goddess watched them go with a soft smile on her face before she turned back to the fountain, hoping to uncover what the lord of the Underworld was up to and where he would strike next.

"You two really do act more like brothers than anything these days," she mumbled to herself. "Kuro... I can only wonder how this is changing your heart. What will you do when this is all over?"


	9. Chapter IX: Challenge

Pit fell back and landed hard on his rear, mentally kicking himself for a rather humiliating loss. In a good-natured manner, Dark Pit held out his hand and helped his companion to his feet.

"Game set!" Some Centurion of a referee called out. "Dark Team wins!" Dark Pit turned around as the armored fighters hurried away from the stage they'd been fighting in.

"Where are they off to in such a hurry?" he couldn't help but wonder. "They've got some decent combat skill. Why don't they fight against the Underworld? Or whatever else is knocking on Skyworld's door?"

"Rabid moths, Forces of Nature, creatures from outer space..." Pit chucked and brushed the dirt off his tunic. "Their training is for competitions like this only. They practically devote their entire existence to these Games, see it as their way of serving the gods by competing." He shrugged. "I'm not even sure what they look like under all the armor."

"Something tells me that will be a mystery for eternity," Dark Pit shook his head.

"Thank goodness you're done," another Centurion came flying down. "Pardon the interruption, Captain. Lady Palutena has summoned you."

"Weren't we just there?" Dark Pit sighed. Pit shot him a silencing look, then turned back to the Centurion.

"Okay, thanks," he replied and looked back at the dark angel. "You coming?"

"Yeah, yeah." The two made their way back to Palutena's temple.

"Greetings, Captain," one of the Centurions on guard outside saluted. "Lady Palutena wishes for you to see her immediately."

"I know, thank you," Pit nodded.

"Please be careful, Captain!" the other said respectfully, and looked over to Dark Pit. "And… you as well, sir!" Dark Pit blinked.

"Uh… yeah, I'll try," he replied somewhat awkwardly as the angels entered the temple. "What was that about?"

"What was what about?" Pit wondered.

"That Centurion," Dark Pit explained. "I mean… since when do they care about anything I do? Let alone tell me to 'be careful' or whatever?" Pit thought it over for a moment, then shrugged.

"My guess is that they're coming to respect you. I mean, hey," he shoved the dark angel playfully. "You helped rescue Lady Palutena's spirit, saved my butt after my wings burned up," though he still had a smile on his face, Dark Pit could see the traces of horror in his eyes at the memory, "and again when Hades… uh… ate me, I guess…" he scratched the back of his head. "And now you're fighting the Underworld Army as my ally. None of that stuff goes unnoticed around here." Dark Pit lost his focus as he pondered what Pit was saying.

iHe's right… I've been doing a lot lately to help him and Palutena./i He blinked.

"But… in the end," he thought aloud, "To them, I'm probably just the dark reflection of their captain created by the Underworld." His comment apparently caught Pit off guard, and the white-winged angel didn't respond for several moments.

"Is that how you see yourself?" he suddenly asked. "Because I don't. I mean, fine. That is how you came to be. But… things are different now, right?" He tilted his head to the side. "I wouldn't go risking my life to save the soul of just anyone. Lady Palutena, of course. Maybe even Viridi. But definitely you, you know?" He shrugged. "Ever since you started fighting as my ally, things have been a lot easier for me." Silence passed between them.

"You're way too sentimental," Dark Pit laughed. "But… no. I don't see myself as your reflection. I haven't for quite a while. Your rival? Definitely. Your babysitter? Sometimes."

"Hey!" Pit argued. "I can take care of myself!"

"Says the guy who got eaten by the lord of the Underworld," Dark Pit replied.

"I- he- er… Okay, you got me there," Pit sighed. "But anyway, that's the point. You're more than just my reflection. You're your own person, you know?" He grinned. "Everybody knows I wouldn't just kick a boss in the head or argue with Lady Palutena or Viridi so quickly, and you've got one unhinged mouth."

"Only because you're such a suck-up," Dark Pit teased him. "Palutena says jump, you jump. She says fight, you fight."

"Well," Pit raised an eyebrow. "What have you been doing?" Dark Pit opened his mouth to reply. "Fighting for Lady Palutena!" Pit interrupted him.

"Only because it's easier that way. Right now, anyway," Dark Pit replied defensively.

"Really?" Pit stared at him slyly. "Is that really the only reason? You don't feel any obligation to fight for her? Or Skyworld in general?" Dark Pit found he couldn't reply. The angels entered Palutena's chamber, and she smiled.

"I'm glad you two made it," she greeted as Pit bowed quickly to her. "I know you've both had a rather trying time, but we need to make our next move as quickly as possible if you're up to it."

"What are we doing?" Dark Pit asked.

"I'm sending the two of you to see Dyntos," she replied. "Hopefully, he'll be willing to help us again."

"Though, my reputation with his weapons isn't exactly great," Pit admitted with an embarrassed smile.

"And exactly what is stronger than that Great Sacred Treasure?" Dark Pit inquired.

"I'm sure Dyntos will be able to come up with something. Besides, we won't know unless we try, right?" Palutena pointed out, and Pit nodded.

"So, we'll head to his workshop and hope for the best?"

"Right," Palutena confirmed.

"Okay," Pit turned toward the gate with Dark Pit following.

"Oh, wait!" Palutena held out her hand, catching their attention, and both turned to face her. "Kuro, hold on." The dark angel gazed at her curiously. "I know you've been using a Silver Bow lately, and I'm not entirely sure how you got it in the first place. But did you know that the Silver Bow was actually a prototype creation I designed before the bow Pit is using?" Dark Pit glanced at his weapon, then to Pit's, and finally back to the goddess.

"Okay, what about it?" he wondered.

"That bow isn't quite as strong as Pit's, and your trials are only going to get tougher from here on out. I've noticed you've been using a lot more melee combat than Pit. Is it because your attacks are stronger that way?" Dark Pit blinked and scanned both himself and Pit. Indeed, he could tell that the muscles in his arms were slightly more toned, perhaps because of his combat choice.

"I suppose," he agreed hesitantly.

"Regardless, I think it's time you traded in for a new weapon." He tilted his head to the side.

"But, aren't we going to Dyntos to get some new gear anyway?" he inquired, and Pit nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but," Palutena smiled. "I doubt you'll want to use the gear he forges for you all the time. Think of this as my gift to you. A… thanks, I suppose, for aiding us in this fight and all that you did in our first war." Before he could say anything, he fell to silence as she extended her hand. When she opened it, a ball of light rose up and formed into the shape of a bow. It floated down to him, and he raised his hand hesitantly. "Well, go on," she urged. "Don't be shy." He swallowed and grabbed the handle, and the glow emitting from it faded as two rings of light appeared around his right wrist. The bow itself bore a strong resemblance to Pit's, being lined in a sharp golden edge, but its center as colored in a vibrant, striking red as opposed to Pit's bright blue. He blinked as he gazed at it in awe.

"Wow," Pit marveled. Dark Pit nodded.

"So, now you have another weapon to use on a day-to-day basis as you see fit," Palutena smiled as the dark angel turned his gaze back to her. "I had it made specifically for you, Kuro. It's yours." He opened his mouth a bit, but found he had no words. "Now, anyway, you both need to get going. Dyntos should be willing to help us if we can explain the situation."

"We'll be fine," Pit smiled. "I'm sure he'll understand." He turned toward the gate. "Come on, Kuro. Let's go." Dark Pit didn't reply, but looked from his bow back to the goddess. After a moment longer, he dipped his head.

"Thank you… Lady Palutena." With that, he turned around and hurried to the gate as it opened, and he could feel Pit's shocked gaze on him as they leapt out into the air once again.

"Is that all I'm useful for?" Viridi's voice spoke up as both angels gained flight. "Helping you fly?" Dark Pit ignored her as he trained his gaze forward.

"Why would she go through all this trouble?" he mumbled as he gripped his new bow. He couldn't deny that it just felt… like it was meant to be in his hand. It was a nearly perfect weight: easy to handle, but strong enough to pack a punch up close.

"She cares about you," Pit replied simply. "She said it herself: She's grateful for everything you've done for us." Dark Pit remained silent for a few moments.

"Guess so," he nodded and shook his head, trying to refocus on their task ahead of him.

"Hey, Kuro?" Pit beckoned.

"What?"

"After we beat Hades… what are you going to do?" The question caught the dark angel off guard.

"I… don't know," he admitted. "I figured I would just head back to the surface and bide my time there. Help keep everything in line and knock some sense into the humans if need be. And they'd definitely need it. They're idiots."

"Yeah, they kind of are," Pit agreed flatly. "But…" he paused. "Would you consider staying in Skyworld?" Dark Pit looked over at him, confused. "No, seriously, I mean it. Would you?" Silence passed between them, and Dark Pit sighed.

"I guess… I mean, I'll admit it is decent up there. And…" he chuckled a bit. "I guess that would mean I'd see my brother a lot more often." Pit started laughing. "What?"

"Now look at who's being all sentimental!" he chuckled. "Well, we'll see, Kuro. First, we have to beat Hades."

"Yep. And look at that," Dark Pit pointed ahead. "We've got company." Several Underworld monsters came into view.

"I see Forces of Nature," Pit announced. "And a couple of Aurum troops," he noted. "Dyntos must be sending us a welcoming party."

"Indeed, sonny!" a laughing voice spoke up. "I already know about the situation with Hades. So, you and your friend want some new weapons, hm?"

"Yes, Lord Dyntos," Pit replied optimistically.

"Ah, I'm glad you remembered your manners this time. Very well, boy. I'll craft you something you can use against Hades."

"Really?" Pit grinned. "I don't have to go through any crazy trials this time?"

"Nope," Dyntos replied. "You proved yourself the last time. However, your companion there is a different story."

"Oh, great." Dark Pit sighed. "So, Lord," he strained the title out, "Dyntos, what is it you want me to do?"

"First of all, would it kill you to show a little respect? You're worse than the chicken over there. But yes, you'll need to pass through a few trials to prove you're worthy of what I can make for you. Understand this: I can only make so many creations that have the power of the Sacred Treasures, and I'll be giving those to Pit to use for Palutena." Pit smiled proudly. "But I can craft something special for you, sonny, if I think you're worth the trouble." Dark Pit bit back a remark. "So, are you interested or not?"

"Yes, sir," Dark Pit replied.

"All right. But first, you both need to understand that he'll have to take on these trials by himself."

"What?" Pit argued. "But-"

"Either he goes through alone, or he doesn't get what I have for him," Dyntos explained simply.

"But-"

"Look, I'll be fine," Dark Pit interrupted his companion. "Besides. I can do anything you can do. Just better." Pit glared at him, but couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"Fine. We accept," Pit told the God of the Forge.

"Ho ho, excellent!" Dyntos chuckled. "Very well."

"Wah!" Pit exclaimed as he was suddenly pulled into a stream of light.

"Pit!" the dark angel called out, caught off guard by his comrade's disappearance.

"Quit worrying. I've got him," Dyntos informed him. "He's fine. I just want to make sure he won't do anything to help you. Besides, I need him for some fitting purposes. But are you ready, sonny?"

"Call me Kuro," Dark Pit replied with strength in his voice. "But yeah. I'm ready."

"Good luck!" Dyntos's hearty laugh echoed around his head as the enemies he faced began their attack.


	10. Chapter X: Anger

Dark Pit dodged around the fire from his adversaries as a large dome came into his view, and he spun out of the way of an approaching Komayto before he slashed through it.

"This thing definitely is stronger," he mused to himself and readied an arrow that, contrasting Pit's blue, glowed with a bright red light. The charge of the shot took out a Monoeye in one hit as he dodged around what seemed to be the tongue of a Mik. "Hey, Palutena," he called out.

"Yes, Kuro?" the goddess replied, her voice sounding mischieveous in his head.

"Did you know Lord Dyntos was going to do this to me?" he inquired, not hotly, but reserved.

"What would make you ask that?" Dyntos teased as the dark angel shot down one of the strange Aurum creatures.

"Because she gave me a stronger bow just before I ended up on a solo mission," he answered flatly. Both Dyntos and Palutena laughed.

"No, I can honestly say I didn't know he was going to do that. But now's your chance to really show off. And we all know how good you are at that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he stuttered. "Ow!" In his distraction, he'd lost track of a Mik that had gotten to his side and fired. He retaliated quickly and slashed through it, then turned to find himself approaching the entrance of the dome.

"Just the whole 'Anything you can do, I can do better,'" Viridi taunted. "You're just like Pit in that sense. Always have to put on a show."

"Do not," he argued.

"You really do, Kuro," Palutena snickered. Dark Pit rolled his eyes as he entered the dome, then quickly found himself being ambushed by Handoras and more Aurum troops. He sighed and gathered his energy, then pointed his bow skyward. A light shot up from it and rained back down as legions of arrows that made quick work of the enemies.

"Haha," Dyntos laughed heartily. "You really can do just about everything the other chicken can, huh, sonny?"

"If not everything," Palutena confirmed. "Well, they do share a-"

"A soul," Dyntos interrupted lightly. "I'm aware, dear Palutena."

"Wait," Dark Pit blinked. "How do you know about that?" He shot down another Aurum foe as he approached a platform at the end of the corridor.

"I hope you're not as thick as your partner," Dyntos chuckled. "But I'm aware of your situation- just about all of it. And I'll admit I'm impressed by everything you and Pit have accomplished so far. You two do share quite the deep bond."

"Oh. Well, uh…" Dark Pit frowned. "Thank you?"

"However! You've still got to pass my test." Dark Pit blinked as he heard Dyntos's voice not only in his head, but echoing around the corridor, and he found the god of the Forge lounging about on a pillar overlooking the platform, where he finally landed. "Welcome, sonny," Dyntos smiled through his messy mustache and beard. "Are you ready for what I've got for you?"

"Like… a weapon?" Dark Pit wondered cautiously.

"Far from it, my boy!" Dyntos laughed. "Don't worry, you'll get the gear I can make for you if you pass my trials. You'd best prepare yourself, little angel. I bet I've got some stuff in store that even you couldn't expect!" Dark Pit nodded.

"I'm ready," he confirmed, gripping his bow as he squared his shoulders.

"Excellent," Dyntos grinned. "I'll expect quite a show from you, Kuro! Just step on that elevator in the middle there, then be ready to fight for your life!" Dark Pit reluctantly stepped on the platform serving as the elevator and ascended to another area. After scanning the area for a moment and finding little other than the stars overhead and the strange architecture of Dyntos's workshop, he started up a nearby flight of stairs.

"Whoa!" About half way up, a giant metal saucer of sorts came crashing down from above. "What the heck is this thing?" Unfortunately, he got no answer as it dropped several Aurum Monoeyes. Dark Pit sighed and sprinted forward, slashing through the mechanical monsters quickly before he turned to their parent ship. He took a step back and fired a charged shot, then followed up with several weaker arrows. The bottom of the saucer exploded just after it spawned a few more Aurum troops. "Okay," the angel growled. "That's it." He crouched down and sprung up, gaining a bit of height as he thrust down his wings and fired a charged shot that sent one Aurum hurdling back into another and both were destroyed. As soon as he landed, he dashed forward and destroyed the saucer with one last shot.

"Ho ho, impressive!" Dyntos commented. "You really know how to use those wings of yours."

"I don't think I've ever seen you do that before," Palutena agreed.

"You know I've had a little more practice," he reminded them with a smirk. "Even if I lost the power itself, I still remember some of the stuff I learned back when I could fly whenever I wanted to." To his complete bewilderment, Palutena started laughing. "What?"

"Nothing," she giggled.

"It's not nothing," he accused as he continued up the stairs and he started another sentence, only to be cut off by a blinding light as he stepped onto the landing on the top of the stairs. "What the…?" He scanned the area to find himself in some sort of arena with electric currents running around the edges, and the currents darted across the arena at random.

A cheery laugh caught his attention, and he looked up. His brow furrowed in annoyance as he found a young woman gently descending, her blond-orange hair flipped up and she had a humorous smile on her face. She wore a white shirt and shorts and a vine climbed up her right leg, and each of her wrists and lower legs were wrapped in dark cloth. Wrapped around her neck was a blue scarf that ended in an electric blue energy that crackled and faded in and out of existence.

"Well, it's about time you showed up!" she mocked.

"Hello, Phosphora," he grumbled.

"Man, you're so depressing," she sighed. "Oh well. I'm not here to talk." With that, she shot a bolt of electricity at him.

"Hey!" he jumped out of the way and glared at her. "What the heck are you doing?"

"Lord Dyntos asked me to come here to test you," she winked at him. "And I could use some exercise." She stretched her fingers and smiled dangerously. "I'm at full charge, so I hope you're up for some fried angel wings."

"You're nothing but talk," he replied flatly. "Nothing but sparks."

"Haha!" she laughed. "You know nothing, Pittoo." He growled, but realized that correcting her would only be a waste of breath. "I hope you conduct electricity as well as your twin!" With that, she fired another bolt of lightning at him and he dodged back again.

"I'm not here to play," he informed her and fired a charged arrow. She squealed and glared at him.

"Tough guy, huh?" she grit her teeth. "Fine. We'll get down to business." She ascended once again and Dark Pit felt the air crackle around him. "Let's see how you like this!" With that, she shot down a crackling blast, and he let out a scream of pain as electricity raced through his body. He collapsed to the ground, utterly stunned as he tried not to black out.

"Urgh…" he grunted, his limbs still tingling as he collected himself and slowly got to his feet.

"Wow," Phosphora rested her arms behind her head. "I can't believe that didn't totally char you."

"Quite!" Dyntos agreed. "Impressive, sonny. Good work. But can you still fight?"

"Of course," he replied and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I can take a little shock."

"That was quite a gamble, Phosphora," Palutena joined the conversation. "Using so much of your energy in one attack?"

"Butt out, Palutena!" Phosphora yelled. "You weren't supposed to mention that!"

"Wait…" Dark Pit smirked. "You poured all of your energy into one attack to beat me down before I got a chance to fight back. But it didn't finish me." His smirk grew. "So, now you're weak, and I'm just getting started."

"Shut it, jerk!" Phosphora retaliated. "I'm fine!" She sent another bolt toward him, but he nimbly rolled out of the way and countered with an attack of his own. She let out a little gasp. "Alright. I'm gonna finish you!" She charged another attack as his mind started racing with a formulating plan. He narrowed his eyes, focusing only on his adversary, and pulled his bow apart into two blades. Just as she pulled back her hand to ready her shot, he threw one blade forward. Her attack hit it as it sped toward her, and she shrieked as the electricity crackling across it shocked her once it hit her. She fell to the ground and the currents around the arena ceased, and she grunted as she pushed herself up.

"Tricky little blackheart," she growled at him, but fell to the ground again, mumbling a soft "ow" as she tried to get up again. He swallowed a fit of anger at her words.

"Just because my wings are black doesn't mean my heart is," he replied through grit teeth.

"Excellent job, sonny! Impressive!" Dyntos praised. "I don't think Pit would have ever come up with something like that: using the metal of your bow to redirect her attack? Most excellent." The arena flashed away and Dark Pit found himself standing on the original landing among the steps of Dyntos's workshop. "But I've got two more little challenges for you. So, when you're ready…" Dark Pit nodded and continued on up the next set of stairs.

"Whoa!" He dodged to the side just as a pair of Ornes popped up on either side of the steps. He sprinted forward as they gave chase, and he felt his heart pound as he tried to swallow his growing fear. As soon as he stepped onto the next landing, the light flashed again and he found himself in another arena. He took a deep breath as he attempted to calm himself, but disorientation hit him as he realized the area he was in: A pale blue platform surrounded by mirrors.

"Where am I?" he inquired. "What's going on?"

"Time for your next challenge!" Dyntos announced.

"Be careful," Palutena cautioned. "I think those mirrors will reflect your shots."

"Noted," Dark Pit nodded, then added a quick "Thanks."

"Just be sure to give me a show!" Dyntos chuckled as a fire suddenly erupted from under him, knocking him off his feet. He twisted and landed hard on his shoulder, his skin singed. With a grunt, he got to his feet just as a human form with a long blue ponytail shot out of the flames, and he felt a fiery rage he thought he'd suppressed burn forth within him again.

"Pandora!" he growled, gripping his bow tight enough that his knuckles turned white. She merely winked at him and drew forth a blade that seemed more fitting for decoration than combat. "Why the heck is she here?" he demanded of Dyntos.

"Don't fret too much," Dyntos replied. "That's one of my creations. A perfect replica, minus her overused vocal chords. I'd never get any work done if I had to listen to her yammering."

"So, she can't talk?" Palutena summarized. "Well, that's a relief."

"Yes. But regardless," Dyntos continued, "I made her after I realized what a hatred the boy here had for her."

"And what could POSSIBLY possess you to do that?" Dark Pit inquired.

"I want to see how you work under emotional pressure," Dyntos laughed, to the angel's annoyance.

"Fine, whatever," he grumbled and separated his bow again, then sprinted toward the Pandora duplicate and dodged around the heart-shaped barriers she fired at him. He ducked forward and slashed at her, making several hits before she teleported to another spot on the stage and threw several explosive spheres at him. He stumbled back, just out of their blast radii, and raced forward again only to be knocked back by her barriers.

He clenched his teeth as he got to his feet again and, yelling out wordlessly in rage and frustration, he plunged the first blade through her and slashed up with the other, his breath coming in gasps and leaving in pants. The Pandora duplicate cried out soundlessly and fell to the ground, and she disappeared. Dark Pit fell to his knees, still panting with his teeth clenched and his brow furrowed, and he gripped the two swords tightly.

"Kuro…" Palutena beckoned. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," he mumbled.

"I… I'm sorry," she continued, to his confusion. "I didn't realize your grudge against her was still so strong." She paused.

"Yes, but he performed accordingly," Dyntos interrupted. "Alright, sonny. Pull it together." Dark Pit took a deep breath as he tried to bite back a complete eruption against the god of the Forge. "You did well, and I've only got one trial left for you. Are you ready?" Unable to speak, the dark angel only nodded. "Very well." Once again, a bright light blinded the angel and, when it died down, he found himself in a new arena of sorts. Unlike the other two, it had little in the way of features that could harm him like the electricity or the mirrors. Instead, it was a relatively flat stone surface with two other islets hovering above it in different places.

He looked down to find a Drink of the Gods next to his foot and, after a moment's hesitation, he swallowed it quickly and felt relief flood his aching limbs. His burns healed and he felt new energy surge through him, along with a new determination to win Dyntos's final challenge.

He glanced around the stage, but found no sign of whatever challenger he was to be up against.

"So… what's going on?" he wondered, the relief of his injuries taking the edge off his sullen mood. "Lord Dyntos," he added respectfully, "what's my final challenge?"

"Oh, you're going to love this," Dyntos laughed. "And don't worry. Palutena won't interfere this time. It'll just be you and…" a shaft of light descended from above, "him."

Dark Pit blinked in disbelief as the light died down, revealing a figure holding an impressive-looking bow with decorative beams of light that demonstrated its power hovering around it. On his free arm there was a reflective shield fastened to it, and the wings on his back sparkled with a power the dark angel had only seen one other time, when he had unintentionally joined Pit in the Underworld to fight against Medusa. The weapons the white-winged angel had been using then matched the ones this newcomer had now, against everything that made sense to the dark angel: the Three Sacred Treasures, supposedly destroyed by Hades mere weeks before.

The figure himself was also encased in the same armor that seemed to come along with the Treasures, and his helmet helped hide what Dark Pit already knew were spiky brown locks of hair. The newcomer's blue eyes sparkled as he smiled mysteriously at the dark angel, who clenched his fists.

"Alright, Lord Dyntos, what's the deal?" he called out, looking up at the sky.

"This is your final challenge!" the god replied with a laugh. "Beat him, and you get your gear."

"No…" he mumbled. "I can't… I'm not going to fight Pit!" He returned his gaze to the angel in front of him. "Pit? Is that really you?" The angel's smile only grew, and he shrugged in a teasing way that Pit would. Dark Pit bit his lip for a moment, then sighed and readied his bow.

_I'm just going to have to trust that this will work out, _he told himself as "Pit" leapt into the air and took aim with an Arrow of Light.


	11. Chapter XI: Dark

Dark Pit jumped and rolled to the side once "Pit" let the Arrow of Light fly, and he quickly retaliated with a shot of his own as his target flew closer. "Pit" brought the Mirror Shield forward and reflected the arrow, but it faded before it could hit Dark Pit. The dark angel blinked.

"The Mirror Shield is supposed to be able to reflect attacks at full strength," he mumbled to himself, then dodged another attack by his opponent. "And the Arrows of Light usually have a higher homing ability. What's going on?"

"My goodness, you're sharp," Dyntos chuckled. "Much sharper than that chicken friend of yours. Quite right: the Three Sacred Treasures were destroyed by Hades, and after seeing them fail like that, I didn't feel like completely recreating them." Dark Pit dodged another of "Pit's" attacks while he listened. "But I figured even a weakened version of them would be a good way to test you. So stay on your toes! Even in a weaker form, those weapons still pack a punch!"

"Noted," Dark Pit grit his teeth and dashed forward, then turned and fired a charged arrow that hit "Pit" in the wing, and he fell with a thud. Before he could get a chance to recover, the dark angel sprinted toward him and slashed toward him, his hands shaking as he struck. "Pit" shouted soundlessly and clutched his wound, his face twisted in pain as blood welled up under his hand. Guilt immediately took hold of Dark Pit's being, but he forced himself to attack again. "Pit" blocked his blade with the Mirror Shield and knocked him back with the bow.

"Ow," Dark Pit grumbled and recovered his balance as "Pit" shot another Arrow of Light at him, catching him off guard as he felt a hot pain pierce his abdomen. He fell and gripped the impacted spot with clenched teeth, but forced himself up again and sprinted forward to hit his adversary with a dash attack. "Pit" soundlessly cried out again and collapsed, dropping the bow. Fear struck the dark angel's heart as he nudged the angel, who didn't respond but only lay there, unmoving.

"What have I done…" the dark angel mumbled, bowing his head.

"Nicely done, Kuro!" Dyntos congratulated. "You pass! Come get your gear." Dark Pit didn't reply as a light illuminated around him and pulled him out of the arena and into a room somewhere in Dyntos's workshop.

"Hey, congrats! You did it!" Dark Pit stared at the source of the voice. Pit stood there, dressed as he usually was, and he grinned brightly. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"WHAT'S THE DEAL?" Dark Pit yelled, turning to Dyntos behind him. "What kind of sick joke is this?"

"What?" Pit tilted his head, confused. "What happened?" Dyntos chuckled.

"Calm down, sonny. I never would have made you actually fight him. That would have defeated any purpose any of us had. That Pit you fought was just another one of my creations." The angels exchanged a glance, one red-eyed gaze of rage and one blue-eyed look of confusion.

"Wait," Pit let out a slow breath. "You made a copy of me?" he demanded, his face turning a shade redder. "What gives you the right to do that?"

"Calm down, he only had one purpose," Dyntos smirked. "And now I won't have to deal with him again. And," he turned back to Dark Pit, "you performed quite well. I'll get you your gear, perhaps a weapon and armor. Any specific requests?" Dark Pit blinked.

"Uh…" he scratched the back of his head. "Um… a bow that an separate into two blades." He shrugged. "And… you said armor?" Dyntos nodded. "Uh… lightweight, and no helmet. I can't stand not feeling the wind."

"That's it?" Dyntos chuckled. "All right. You're pretty low maintenance. All right, I'll be back shortly. In the mean time," he looked toward Pit. "I bet you want to show off your new toys. Behold the new Sacred Treasures, sonny! Some of my finest work." With that, the god of the Forge disappeared, and sighed.

"Well, that was obnoxious," he shrugged. "But, you never would have beat me had it been the real me!" he added quickly. Dark Pit ignored him, his gaze dull. "Hey…" Pit's joking tone became serious. "Are you okay?" He placed his hand gently on the dark angel's shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

"I'm fine, he replied flatly and could tell Pit didn't believe him, but the white-winged angel didn't press it further. "So," Dark Pit forced a smile. "You want to show me your new toys?" Pit chuckled and held up his left wrist, now encased in some sort of brightly colored brace with a gold cuff on either end. It had several light blue lines decorating it that formed a bright green diamond on one side. "Okay," Dark Pit gazed at it curiously. "What is that?"

"Uh…" Pit stared at it, obviously thinking. "I'm still getting the hang of this, but…" he shut his eyes and took a deep breath, and suddenly a barrier of sorts illuminated brightly from the brace. "He calls it the Energy Shield," Pit smiled as crouched behind it. "Just as effective as the Mirror Shield, without being so bulky! Totally out of the way." The barrier retracted back to the brace, and Dark Pit nodded.

"Cool," he smiled a bit. "What else?"

"Well," Pit pointed to the clasp fastening his tunic on his shoulder, and Dark Pit found that it was now a bright green compared to the former red.

"What about it?" the dark angel wondered. Pit grasped it and focused, and a light burst forth from it, enveloping his body briefly. When it died down, he had donned armor over his left shoulder, a chest plate, two plates around his sides, and shin guards colored bronze with a pale gold edge. The bottom of his chest plate, protecting the tip of his breastbone, was a bright gold crest bearing the symbol of the goddess of Light. He wore a bronze helmet bearing an attached laurel crown around it, and two bright blue beams of light hovered above it on either side. He grinned. "You know what's funny? This stuff is really durable, but it's actually super light. Really easy to move in." He shrugged. "Orichalcum Armor? I think that's what he called it."

"Isn't Orichalcum supposed to be like… the most durable substance in existence?" Dark Pit wondered.

"I think so," Pit nodded. "And yet the Great Sacred Treasure was made of the same stuff, and Hades still destroyed it."

"But I think it'll still do a decent job protecting you," Dark Pit pointed out. "And you're a lot smaller of a target." Pit grinned and nodded.

"No kidding," he agreed. "Anyway, check this out. This is my favorite." He focused again and his armor retracted, leaving him back in his usual outfit as he hurried over to a mantle of sorts on the wall of the room they were in, then took down and brought back a bright gold, impressive-looking bow. Hovering near it were smaller curves of blue and green light and the bow itself was separated into several sharpened segments that resembled…

"This is the Winged Bow, I think," Pit announced. "Look!" He pulled back a bright light that shot forward in an arrow rippling with power that left a hole in the wall once it made contact. "Oops." Pit smiled, though embarrassed. "Uh… maybe he won't notice?"

"Well, anyway," Dark Pit shoved him gently. "You happy with this new gear?"

"Most definitely!" Pit grinned. "I can't wait to fry Hades." Dark Pit nodded in agreement.

"And this time," the dark angel added, "We'll make sure he stays down. No matter what it takes." He smiled. "Because nothing is more destructive than two Pits, right?" Pit laughed and nodded briskly.

"Two Pits with weapons made by me!" Dyntos joined them again. "And don't worry about the wall for now, sonny. I'll make you fix it after you deal with Hades."

"I will," Pit dipped his head. "Sorry about that."

"Just shows how powerful that bow is," Dyntos chuckled. "Anyway, Kuro. Here you go. Try this on for size." He held out a clasp similar to Pit's, but colored a slightly darker green. Dark Pit hesitantly took it. "Just focus on it," the god of the Forge instructed somewhat impatiently. The dark angel did as instructed and was temporarily blinded, again, by light. When it died down, he found himself wearing armor similar to Pit's, though both of his shoulders had a guard and there was no plate wrapping around his back. He stretched a bit and rolled his shoulders, then looked down to find a gold crest that, like Pit's, sported the symbol of Palutena. He shifted his gaze back to Dyntos, who smiled knowingly.

"So, does this fit your criteria?" the god of the Forge inquired.

"Yes, sir," the dark angel dipped his head. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you still mind your manners," Dyntos continued. "Now, remember. Neither your armor nor your weapon are quite as strong as Pit's. But they're still more than a match for any Underworld minion you come across." Both angels nodded. "So, without further ado," Dyntos grinned, "Here you go- one personalized bow. Try not to hurt yourself with it." The bow he presented was an off-golden color with streaks of red, blue, and green, curving in two sharpened sections on each side. Dark Pit stared at it in awe, suddenly lost for words, and he bowed slightly to the god of the Forge.

"Thank you, Lord Dyntos," he managed to say.

"You're welcome, sonny. Now, both of you! Out of my workshop! I don't like visitors!"

"I'd better get you two back here," Palutena noted and a light enveloped the angels, taking them back to Skyworld.

"So…" Pit began once he and his dark look-alike arrived back at Palutena's temple. "Now what?" He bowed quickly as the goddess approached them. "I mean, what are we waiting around for? Let's get Hades before he can reform!"

"It's not that simple, Pit," Palutena told him with a soft smile. "Just because you've got energy to spare doesn't mean you can just go ahead and leave." She turned her gaze to Dark Pit. "I think you're forgetting what our friend here just went through to get his weapon and armor." Pit's enthusiasm faded.

"Oh, right," he said sheepishly. "Sorry." Dark Pit shrugged.

"Just… give me a little bit to recover," the red-eyed angel said slowly, then nodded to Palutena and headed out of the chamber. Pit blinked as Palutena watched him go, her eyes somewhat distant.

"Something is bothering him," she noticed. "I'm not sure what, but…" she turned to her captain. "I highly doubt he'll tell me about it, but maybe he'll open up to you."

"I don't know," Pit scratched the back of his head. "Getting through to him is harder than breaking Cragalanche's shell with a staff." He sighed. "But I'll try."

"Pit," Palutena continued. "I'm giving you a suggestion, not an order. If you don't want to, you don't have to." Pit nodded and smiled a bit.

"I know, Lady Palutena. Hey, can you order a pizza? I'm starving!" she laughed.

"We'll see," she teased. "Go on, then!" he set a jogging pace and hurried after the dark angel. "Kuro!" he called out once he was outside, scanning the nearby islets, then called out his look-alike's nickname again. He turned around toward the Centurions on guard. "Did you see which way he went?"

"Honh?" One replied. "Oh. He went thataway, sir." He pointed off toward the central plaza of Skyworld.

"What are you talking about?" the other wondered. "He went that way!" he pointed toward another area that served as the training grounds and the home of the Light vs. Dark matches.

"Your visor must be too dark!" The first one accused. "He went toward the plaza!"

"Nuh-uh!" the other argued. "He went off toward the training grounds!"

"Guys," Pit sighed, massaging his forehead.

"You're blind!" the first went on.

"No, you are!"

"You!"

"Guys," Pit attempted to catch their attention again with no luck.

"You were seeing things!" the second growled.

"I think I'd know a dark angel if I saw him!"

"And I wouldn't? Come on! How many black-winged angels are around here?"

"How many angels are there in general?" Pit mumbled, his frustration with the Centurions growing.

"Hey! I know we have to keep an eye on him!" the first said loudly, and Pit's eyes snapped open blankly.

"I know that!" the other agreed.

"Well, you're doing one heck of a job," the first said sarcastically.

"OKAY!" Pit erupted, silencing them in shock. "That's enough!" he growled, fuming. "WHAT could possibly make you think that you need to watch him?"

"Well, sir," the first hesitantly began. "I mean… he is… just look at him. Black-winged angels are…"

"Unnatural," the second finished. Pit glared at them, and they both shrunk back.

"Don't ever talk about my brother like that again," he ordered. "You can trust Kuro just as much as you trust me. He's been fighting just as hard as I have against Hades and, well…" he paused. "He may not admit it, but he's loyal to Lady Palutena." He sighed heavily as the Centurions cowered. "And, by the way. His wings aren't black. They're more of a dark teal." With that, he jumped off the edge of the islet and glided over to the next landing, continuing on until he made it to the central plaza, but Dark Pit was nowhere to be seen. He took a deep breath and continued on until he reached the structure that served as his housing.

He hurried down the main hall and up the stairs on the right-hand side, then came to a halt in front of the closed door. After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. Inside, Dark Pit was sitting on his bed, slouched over and washing his face in a bowl of water. His golden laurel crown sat next to him and he didn't look up once he lowered his still-dripping hands. He let out a soft, slow sigh and lowered his head.

"Kuro?" Pit beckoned, and the dark angel jerked in alarm before he turned around.

"What?" he inquired, his voice strained. Pit frowned.

"Uh… I just… Are you okay?" He walked over and stopped a few feet from his dark look-alike, and noticed that the dark angel's dulled eyes seemed stained redder than usual, and he sniffed a bit as he inhaled. Dark Pit didn't reply, but simply remained silent and dropped his gaze. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sick of it," he replied after a moment.

"Of what?" To Pit's surprise, Dark Pit stood up quickly and glared at him.

"Look at me!" he snapped, breathing heavily. Pit blinked as the dark angel softened his tone. "Look at me, Pit. Dark wings. Red eyes. Is that what I'll always be?" He looked at the floor. "A blackheart. A traitor. A creature no one can truly trust." He looked back up at the stunned, white-winged angel. "You're a hero both here and with the humans. But when they look at me, they see a dark copy of you." He paused. "Look at you. You've got pure white wings. Heavenly. People trust and admire you, and they offer forgiveness if you screw up. But look at me. Dark wings. And that isn't supposed to happen. They probably wonder what I did that was so bad to taint my wings to look like this. They think I'm deceitful. Evil. If I screw up, they offer judgment." He fell silent.

"Kuro," Pit mumbled. "I just got done ranting to a couple of Centurions about how much you fight against Hades, that they should trust you just as much as they do me, and how I think you actually are loyal to Lady Palutena. I don't care if anyone says you're just my dark clone or whatever." He crossed his arms. "You're not, and you know that. So, if people aren't seeing it, then you need to fight to prove it to them." He smiled. "And I'll gladly help you. I don't care if I have to parade around the Overworld shouting it to get it through their heads." Dark Pit sighed and smiled a bit.

"Much as I hate to admit it, you're right." He picked up his bow. "I'll prove it to everyone no matter how much it takes. I am NOT just some poorly designed copy of you."

"Are you talking about Putt?" Pit grinned.

"Who?" Dark Pit stared at him, confusion evident in his features.

"Never mind. Anyway, let's go kick some Hades butt. No one will be able to deny you then." Dark Pit nodded and opened his mouth to reply.

"Pit! Kuro!" Palutena's distressed voice echoed around their heads. "Get your weapons and come back to the temple. Quickly!"

"What's wrong?" Pit wondered.

"Hades has launched a massive attack on another town, and the Reapers are overseeing it. I can't let them destroy another city. Hurry!" The angels exchanged a look.

"Sounds like a perfect opportunity to try out our new weapons," Dark Pit pointed out, and Pit grinned and nodded. They grabbed their bows and started toward the door.

"Oh, wait!" Pit spun around and hurried back to the bed. "You're forgetting something." He held up Dark Pit's laurel crown and smiled. "Come on. You can't go anywhere without this." Dark Pit stared at it for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"Suppose not." He took it and set it in place among his spiky black locks of hair as they hurried outside.


	12. Chapter XII: Servants of Light

The angels quickly made their way back to Palutena's temple as commanded and hurried inside to find the goddess gazing into the fountain on her altar, gripping her staff in worry. She turned around at the sound of their footsteps, and Pit opened his mouth to say something.

"Just go!" she ordered, cutting him off. "I'll explain things on the way!"

"Uh, okay," Pit nodded and hurried over to the gate as it opened. He exchanged a knowing glance with Dark Pit and the two equipped their armor before jumping out into the air.

"Well, don't you two look spiffy," Viridi commented as their wings gained Flight. Pit couldn't tell whether she was being sarcastic or not.

"Is there a particular reason you're taking your weapons like that?" Palutena wondered. The angels exchanged another amused look.

"What, is there something wrong with wanting a field test?" Dark Pit wondered. "Besides. The quicker we defeat these things, the more likely we are to save the humans. Right?"

"Since when do you care?" Viridi inquired. Pit winced, preparing for a raging outburst from the dark angel, but Dark Pit only rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Come on, Viridi. You can't tell me you haven't been watching us. Even if you don't care about us specifically, I know you like a good show."

"Well, I… Uh…" the goddess of Nature sighed. "Fine. Whatever."

"Incoming enemies," Palutena announced. "Be on your guard. I don't think they'll let us through very easily."

"Not a problem!" Pit replied confidently. "We've got this." Several Underworld enemies appeared on the horizon, quickly coming toward them. "It's like a buffet. And I'm still starving!"

"I promise, you can eat once you get back," Palutena told him. "But for now, get rid of them!"

"With pleasure." Dark Pit took aim and fired a relatively massive charged shot that sent one Underworld minion crashing into another, effectively destroying them both. "Wow."

"Hoo yeah!" Pit cheered and fired an arrow of his own that might as well have exploded on impact. Within moments, the sky was cleared save the two angels. "I am LOVING this thing!"

"I'll admit it. Dyntos did one heck of a job," Dark Pit agreed. "These pack a major punch." He glanced over to Pit, who grinned.

"Regardless, you've got more enemies coming," Palutena informed them. "Stay on your guard, and don't get too overconfident."

"What, us?" Pit scoffed.

"Overconfident? Never," Dark Pit chuckled.

"Not to rain on your parade or anything," Viridi began, "But there's some sort of flying snake thing-"

"Oof!" Pit huffed as said flying snake thing, glowing eerily with crossed-out eyes, flew up suddenly and knocked the wind out of him.

"You okay?" Dark Pit asked as the white-winged angel stabilized himself. Pit smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

"Orichalcum, remember?" he said proudly, tapping his chest plate with his free hand. "I'm fine. More surprised me than anything."

"Regardless, it's coming back," Palutena warned them, and indeed. The snake was doubling back and coming at them quickly. "You're getting close to your destination, but…"

"We gotta deal with that pain in the neck first," Dark Pit finished.

"Exactly," Palutena confirmed. "You don't have much time, so be quick."

"You worry too much, Lady Palutena," Pit grinned. "If I can battle my way to the top of a free-for-all tournament with your bow, I think I can handle this with the Treasures." He pulled the Winged Bow up and took aim as the snake approached.

"Tournament?" Dark Pit repeated, puzzled, as he followed Pit's example and readied his weapon. "When was this?"

"Uh…" Pit smiled sheepishly. "Recently. Before Medusa got herself resurrected." Dark Pit blinked.

"Would you have called it a smashing good time, Pit?" Viridi inquired sarcastically.

"Well, look who's mentioning the unmentionables now!" Pit shot back.

"Okay, okay, enough," Palutena interrupted. "Focus, Pit. That isn't just any snake."

"Oh, most certainly not!" the snake replied in a swelling voice with heavy emphasis on every word. At once, Pit immediately knew who he was dealing with.

"Hello, Thanatos," he sighed and rolled out of the way as Thanatos careened at him again.

"Oh, I'm SO glad you remember me," Thanatos went on. "I was so worried that-"

"Ugh…" Dark Pit groaned. "Can we PLEASE shut this guy up? I can't take that voice."

"Oh, so you're this Ptooey that Lord Hades was telling me about!" Thanatos realized. "For an angel, you're awfully rude."

"Okay, that's it," Dark Pit took aim and fired a charged shot, and Thanatos screeched in pain once it made contact. Pit quickly followed with a shot of his own that sent the god of Death spiraling down.

"Lord Hades didn't mention that you'd gotten so much stronger," he lamented as he stabilized and made his way back up in the air. "What's the deal?"

"Come find out," Pit challenged.

"Quickly," Palutena reminded them. "You need to land soon."

"That's more time than we need," Dark Pit replied confidently and shot another arrow at their enemy.

"You're so mean!" Thanatos protested somewhat childishly. "Fine! If you want to play dirty…"

"We don't want to play at all," Pit rolled his eyes and the two angels fired their arrows again just as Thanatos released a fiery attack. "Kyah!" Dark Pit glanced over to his look-alike as they both dodged it, confused by the traces of terror in Pit's eyes. But it quickly dissipated and Pit took another shot at their opponent.

"Oof!" With that, Thanatos plummeted toward the town below and reverted to his original clown-like form, crashing somewhere among the structures the humans called home.

"He's not done yet," Viridi announced.

"And if the god of Death himself is overseeing this, I have a bad feeling for the humans," Palutena agreed. "Pit, Kuro, please. Hurry." Pit turned to his companion and smiled a bit.

"You ready for this?" he wondered. Dark Pit glanced to him with a smirk.

"Yep. Let's give Hades a taste of what he's in for," he replied. Pit grinned and nodded, gripping his bow and clenching his free hand into a fist.

"Yeah! We'll have those Reapers running scared with their tails between their legs!"

"That is, if we let them go," Dark Pit added, and Pit nodded again.

"Just come back in one piece, both of you," Palutena sighed as the angelic duo dropped down quickly and landed in another part of the town. Pit readjusted his helmet and scanned their surroundings. To his relief, he didn't see any lifeless bodies, but a veil of death still hung over the town as the Reapers darted around overhead.

"This is the first time we're fighting together since the Reapers' Fortress," he realized, looking over his shoulder to his companion, who blinked.

"I guess it is," Dark Pit nodded. "Speaking of which…" he cleared his throat. "I guess… I mean, I suppose I never got a chance to… er…" he sighed heavily. "Thanks for saving me." Pit pondered making a joke, but decided against it as he realized how much it was breaking through his partner's pride just to thank him.

"I couldn't just leave you out there," he shrugged. "And besides. From what Lady Palutena said, you kind of saved me too back there. That Reaper was going to finish me. I was sure of it."

"Look," Palutena interrupted again. "I know that's important to you two, but can it wait? You need to hurry up and drive out the Underworld!"

"Sorry," Pit mumbled, and Dark Pit pulled his bow apart.

"Let's end this," he smiled, and Pit nodded. They took off toward the center of town, and the white-winged angel grinned as the came across the Underworld minions.

"This should be fun," he laughed and launched a charged shot from his bow at an unsuspecting Monoeye, taking it down as the arrow made impact. Dark Pit dashed up to a Skuttler and took it down quickly.

"Company," he announced as several Reapers descended upon them.

"Perfect," Pit smiled. "We owe them a beating, don't we?"

"We most certainly do," the dark angel smirked dangerously. "Come on, Reapettes! You want us? Come get us!"

"Are you sure letting them test their equipment was the brightest idea?" Viridi wondered.

"I'm starting to question it," Palutena admitted lightly. "But they wanted a field run, and it seems to be going well." As a Reaper closed in on Pit, he slashed his bow through it. It flailed about momentarily before dissipating, and Dark it followed his example with his dual blades on another.

"What in the world?" a deep voice echoed around there heads. "What is going on up there?"

"So, Hades," Palutena mused. "You've made contact at last?"

"I just regained the strength to do so, pretty Palutena. I'm sure you've missed me so much. You too, Rosebud."

"As if," Viridi scoffed. Pit exchanged an amused look with Dark Pit as they continued on toward the center of town, mowing down enemies in their path with little difficulty.

"Still thorny as ever, I see," the lord of the Underworld noted. "Now, my friends, would someone be kind enough to tell me just what it is taking out my forces so quickly?"

"I told you I'd be the one to stop you!" Pit called out.

"Oh, Pitty, is that you?" Hades wondered. "Where on earth did you gain such strength? I hope you haven't been doing anything to that delicate little frame and form of yours."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the white-winged angel inquired, feeling somewhat violated.

"That's a pretty creepy thought," Dark Pit mumbled.

"Oh, nothing," Hades chuckled. "Now then, Minions, take care of our little chicken and his friend. Show him just what we have in store for him." As several more Underworld monsters approached them, Pit focused as he stepped in front of his partner and lifted the Energy Shield. The shots fired at him were nullified on contact, and he smiled.

"Tough luck, Hades," he shrugged and the two fired several shots that pierced through the monsters.

"Oh dear," Hades mumbled. "Don't tell me the god of the Forge is at it again." He paused. "Well, judging from that hunk of metal you all called a 'Great Sacred Treasure,' I have nothing much to worry about."

"Tell that to all your minions we just roasted," Dark Pit remarked.

"Even so," Hades continued, "Those lowlifes are nothing compared to me. I suppose I'll have to cut my plans short and swat you two little insects. I do look forward to our encounter, Pitty Pat. You too, Ptooey."

"Kuro," Dark Pit corrected without a second thought.

"Whatever," Hades scoffed. "Though, I am surprised at how the Reapers are faring against those new toys of yours."

"You got that right!" Pit challenged. "And we're coming for you next!"

"Is that so?" Hades inquired. The angels exchanged a knowing glance.

"It's time," Dark Pit said. Pit nodded in agreement, then lifted his voice.

"Lord of the Underworld, hear our words!" he began.

"And see our actions!" Dark Pit joined in.

"I am Pit, an angel of light!"

"And I am Kuro, an angel of darkness!"

"We are servants of the Goddess of Light, and together we will rain death upon you!" they announced together.

"So if you're ready to die, step right up," Dark Pit taunted.

"And if you don't want to die, too bad!" Pit added.

"Aw yeah!" The observing god and goddesses were silent.

"They really don't change, do they?" Viridi commented.

"Guess not," Palutena laughed a bit.

"Did I hear that right?" Hades wondered after a moment. "Ptooey, did you just call yourself a servant of the Goddess of Light? You've become one of pretty Palutena's puppets?"

"No," Dark Pit replied firmly. "I get it now. I understand why Pit serves her. She doesn't use him or me. She wants what's best for the world, to keep the balance in place. Lady Palutena isn't interested in extending her territory or gaining power. She's happy ruling Skyworld and protecting the balance." He paused. "Pit follows her because that's what he wants to do, and I follow her because I know it's what's right. She accepts me despite what I am."

"Well," Hades chuckled. "That was quite a speech. Did Palutena write it for you?"

"Just shut up, Hades," both angels said within moments of each other.


	13. Chapter XIII: Attack

"I think Ptooey is rubbing off on you a little too much, dear Pitty Pat," Hades remarked. "You didn't used to be so rude."

"What? Did you say something?" Pit wondered sarcastically as he raced down the alley with his dark counterpart on his heels.

"Me?" Dark Pit inquired. "Nah. I think it was just some little pest." Pit chuckled and dashed up to an approaching Ganewmede. It stared at him with its large yellow eye, but proved to be no match to the Winged Bow that cut cleanly through it. A bright arrow shot over his head and angled down to defeat a Nettler, and Dark Pit followed up with another shot at a Skuttler behind it.

"Hm. Those certainly are some strong weapons," Hades commented. "If only they were in more… capable hands."

"There's no one who could use 'em better than me!" Pit retorted.

"Humble today, aren't we?" Palutena laughed. "Come on, now, Pit. Reign it in a little. You're not invincible, much as you may like to think you are."

"Certainly not!" Thanatos's swelling voice joined the conversation again. "And I won't be suffering another defeat by you, mister chicken."

"Mister chicken?" Dark Pit echoed and shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"HeLLO!" Thanatos continued. "You need to learn some manners! I, for one, would never-"

"Thanatos, the god of Death?" Viridi interrupted. "Is that right?"

"The one and only," Thanatos replied. "And come on, Viridi. It's not too nice to interrupt. Could you at least-"

"Do you ever stop talking?" Viridi inquired, cutting him off.

"ExCUSE me!" Pit exchanged an amused glance with his dark look-alike, and both angels started laughing. "What? What's so funny? It's not fair!" Thanatos protested. "Why do you two get the spotlight? Why can't I ever be the main character?"

"Because you don't have anything that could measure up to this awesomeness," Pit pointed to himself with a grin on his face.

"And even if you did, you still wouldn't measure up to me," Dark Pit added. Pit blinked as he processed what the dark angel was implying.

"Come on!" he argued as they picked up their pace and entered the central square of the town. From the surroundings, Pit figured it was some sort of market, and there were several stalls surrounding the perimeter of the area. "Any sense of awesome, you got from me!"

"You wish," Dark Pit scoffed.

"Oh, I'm SO glad you could join me!" Thanatos greeted sarcastically- or so anyone observing figured.

"I'm the original!" Pit continued.

"Therefore, I'm the improved version," Dark Pit replied.

"Uh…" Thanatos held up one hand, but both angels ignored him.

"You can't go wrong with the real thing!" Pit went on. "It's always worth more than a copy."

"Except that I'm better than you."

"Are not!"

"Who won our last Light vs. Dark match?"

"Uh, hello!" Thanatos again attempted to get their attention. "It's rude to exclude! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Wait your turn!" Both angels snapped at him, then resumed their argument. At that, Palutena and Viridi both started laughing.

"Do they do this often?" Hades inquired.

"Not as much as you think they would," Palutena giggled. "But honestly, Pit. Kuro. You need to deal with Thanatos- then you can argue."

"They certainly have their priorities in line, huh?" Viridi sighed. "Hey, chickens! Stop cawing at each other and fight!"

"I agree," Hades joined in. "This isn't very entertaining."

"Hey!" Thanatos yelled. "Come on! Enough!" Both angels, without taking their gazes off each other, each shot a charged arrow at the god of Death.

"You can't even survive without me!" Pit went on.

"And vice versa," Dark Pit rolled his eyes. "No you, no me."

"Two sides, same coin. I know." Pit let out a slow breath. "But-"

"All right, ENOUGH!" Hades's voice boomed, silencing everyone involved. "Honestly, you two chickens need to learn when to keep your beaks shut."

"Well, someone's grumpy when he wakes up," Pit sighed. "Anyway, fine." He turned to Thanatos. "You ready for destruction?"

"YOUR destruction!" Thanatos laughed. "You'd best prepare yourself, angels! Lord Hades isn't very pleased about you getting away!"

"Thanatos, there is such thing as saying too much," Hades said flatly.

"Yes, because we all know how hard it is to stop a flightless angel when you have an army on your side," Viridi taunted.

"Hey, come on!" Pit protested. Dark Pit nudged him and pointed at Thanatos.

"And I MUST thank you for your bickering!" the god of Death went on. "You've stalled so long, the Reapers have gotten SO MANY more souls for Lord Hades!" Pit blinked.

"AGH!" he yelled, guilt crashing over him. "Okay, that's it. Let's finish this."

"Right behind you," Dark Pit agreed.

"About time," Thanatos mumbled and, in a cloud of smoke, shifted into what looked like a dark green wolf or canine of sorts, its teeth elongated and dripping with saliva as it snarled.

"That the best you got?" Dark Pit inquired curtly and shot another charged arrow at their foe. Thanatos nimbly dodged around it and sped forward, but was knocked back with a whimper once Pit slashed at him with the Winged Bow.

"Those are some strong weapons," the god of Death commented. "Let's see how you handle this!" He shifted again into what looked like a giant pot that fell over on its side. Both angels stared at it curiously and, after studying it for a moment, scored two shots between them before fire suddenly erupted from within the pot.

"Gah!" Dark Pit dodged out of the way while Pit pulled up the Energy Shield, repelling the flames. Once they died down, the dark angel hurried over to him to find his eyes blank, again, with some masked terror before he recovered his composure. Finally, it hit the dark angel.

_You're afraid of fire._

"This guy is really starting to tick me off," Pit grumbled. "Let's finish him."

"Absolutely," Dark Pit nodded and separated his bow. Both angels raced forward and stabbed their weapons into the pot harshly.

"Ouch!" Thanatos complained as the pot started cracking. The angels exchanged a look and Dark Pit smirked before they attacked again and again, chipping away at the pot before Thanatos had a chance to change shape. It wasn't long before their enemy lay shattered in ceramic pieces, scattered across the ground.

"Not the smartest guy, is he? Turning into something breakable," Pit pointed out. "That was kind of easy."

"At least he's out of the way," Dark Pit shrugged.

"Are you sure?" Palutena asked, concern in her voice.

"Oh dear…" Hades sighed. "Yes, I can vouch, Professor Palutena. Your little pests have quite literally broken my minion apart. Ruthless little chickens, aren't you?"

"Just doing our job!" Pit called out triumphantly as the pieces disappeared. "Whatever it takes. You're the ruthless one, Hades. We WILL protect the humans from you!"

"'We?'" Hades echoed. Dark Pit sighed and crossed his arms.

"We," the red-eyed angel confirmed.

"Fine," Hades grumbled. "I suppose you win. Pull back, minions. Before you get yourselves annihilated." Pit looked up and scanned the sky as the Reapers exchanged several confused looks, but, as the remaining Underworld troops ascended among them, they took off for the Underworld.

"Why would he pull out his troops?" Pit wondered.

"What, I can't play fair and admit defeat?" Hades mocked.

"Usually you leave them even if they don't have a direct commander," Dark Pit replied flatly.

"I'm just trying to be nice!" Hades insisted.

"Uh-huh," Dark Pit sighed.

"What's the deal, Hades?" Pit yelled, curling the fingers of his free hand into a fist.

"Oh, I get it. You two don't trust me!" the lord of the Underworld responded, his voice dripping with overdone emotion. "I'm hurt! Truly hurt!"

"Regardless," Palutena interrupted. "Now that he's pulled out his troops, let's get you two back here." A light enveloped the angels and, as they were pulled back to Skyworld, Pit thought he could hear cheering from the town below.

Once back within Palutena's temple, both angels removed their armor and Pit bowed to the goddess before them. Dark Pit rolled his shoulders a bit, keeping his gaze on her.

"You both did extraordinarily well," she smiled. "Those weapons really pack a punch, don't they?"

"You can say that again," Dark Pit nodded. "But please don't," he added as Pit got to his feet.

"Yes," she shook her head humorously. "But, thanks to your efforts, about half of the town was saved."

"O…only half?" Pit mumbled, hanging his head in shame.

"Think of how many you saved, not what we lost," Palutena advised. "That's half a town's worth of souls that Hades doesn't have that he would have if you two hadn't gone down to fight."

"Speaking of which," Dark Pit crossed his arms. "Why did he withdraw his troops like that?"

"Hmm…" Palutena thought it over for a moment. "I have a guess, and it seems likely. As you know, forming the Underworld monsters takes a vast amount of souls. It could be that Hades didn't want to lose his troops so he wouldn't have to form more of them."

"Meaning more souls for him," Pit realized. "For his new form."

"Exactly," Palutena nodded. "At least, that's the most logical explanation I can come up with."

"It makes sense," Dark Pit pointed out. "Hades is greedy- we know that well enough. He'll want every scrap resource for himself before he starts worrying about his troops."

"So, we may not have to worry about troops for a while," Pit added hopefully.

"Well, I'm not sure about that," Palutena told him. "We don't know how many he still has in the Underworld. But, it's likely that as long as you take them out, you're denting his forces- if he's using the souls for himself, then he won't just have an endless supply of them. And-" she suddenly stopped, her eyes growing wide and blank for a moment.

"Lady Palutena?" Pit beckoned, fear growing in him. "Lady Palutena!" he took a step closer to her. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" She didn't reply, nor did she even seem to hear him. Instead, after a moment, she hurried to the platform overlooking the rest of the chamber and ascended to the fountain there quickly.

"What's going on?" Dark Pit wondered, a foreboding feeling washing over him.

"I don't know," Pit replied, his voice weighed down with worry. After a moment, an obviously distressed Palutena turned to them.

"Pit, Kuro, get outside! Now! Hades is-" Before she could finish, all three of the chamber's inhabitants fell to the floor with sudden trembling in the ground and the walls, and the roof suddenly began caving in over them. Pit, without a second thought, stumbled to his feet and hurried to Palutena, pulling up the Energy Shield on his wrist and holding it over both of them as the stones of the roof started crashing down.

He coughed once the chaos had subsided, leaving dust swirling in the air around them.

"Lady Palutena?" he choked out. "Are you okay?" Palutena pushed herself up and looked to him.

"Yes," she nodded, though her voice was shaky. "Thank you, Pit." Pit smiled in relief before another thought suddenly hit him.

"Kuro!" he cried out and got to his feet, tripping over the fallen pieces of the roof. "Kuro, where are you?" he demanded as he tried peering through the dust.

"Ow…" a mumble reached his ears, and he followed it to find his dark look-alike lying on the ground- bruised and cut, but alive. Pit shoved the debris off of him and grabbed his right arm, helping him to his feet.

"Are you alright?" he wondered. Kuro didn't reply for a moment.

"Yes and no," he finally answered, gesturing to his left arm- obviously bent in a way it shouldn't have been. Pit winced.

"Miss me?" A voice boomed, and all three looked up to see the face of Hades gazing into the chamber. "How wonderful that you're all here. I wouldn't want you to miss this!"

"Hades!" Pit cried out angrily.

"Pit!" Hades replied.

"No, I'm not doing that again," the white-winged angel growled.

"You're no fun," Hades pouted. "Ptooey has been rubbing off on you entirely too much. He's sucking away your sense of humor." Pit clenched his teeth and equipped his armor again, then retrieved his bow.

"I'll take care of this," he promised as he glanced to Palutena and headed toward the exit, jumping over the debris. "Kuro, please. Protect Lady Palutena." Before he had a chance to hear Dark Pit's reply, he hurried down the main corridor of the ruined temple and emerged outside. "Alright, Hades!" he called out.

"Yeeeees?" Hades inquired as Pit scanned Skyworld- under attack by the Underworld troops, and Centurions were dropping at an alarming rate. Pit clenched his teeth.

"I won't let you achieve victory! In the name of Lady Palutena, the humans, and all living things, I'll defeat you! I won't stop fighting until they're all safe! I don't care what it takes! My wings, my own well being, whatever!"

"Let me assure you that I'll be delighted to take all of that from you," Hades grinned maniacally. "Come now, Pitty. Let me tear you apart, squash you like the problematic insect you are." He pulled back his hand and Pit readied an arrow.


	14. Chapter XIV: Showdown

Pit let the arrow from his bow fly just as Hades thrust his hand forward, and the impact of the two shots caused something of an explosion that left the angel fighting force to stay on his feet. He grit his teeth and shot another arrow quickly that made contact on Hades's chest.

"Ow!" Hades growled. "Hrm. Those are some powerful toys you've got there, Pitty."

"And they'll be the death of you," Pit replied, not in the mood for banter. He dashed forward as well as he could, dodging the rubble that once made up parts of Skyworld and let another charged arrow fly. Again, he managed to hit Hades, but the lord of the Underworld barely flinched.

"This is just precious, Pitty Pat," he laughed. "I may have had to cut my reformation short, but I'm still much too strong for you. Why don't you just fly away?" Pit glared at him in hostility. "Oh, that's right. You still can't fly on your own, can you?"

"Just shut it!" Pit yelled and fired another charged shot, followed by several weaker ones.

"On the bright side," Hades went on, "That means there's nowhere for you to go. Time to squish the pest." He raised one large fist and Pit started sprinting backward as it came hurtling down.

"Ooof!" his breath was forced from his body as he crumpled to the ground, dazed with a sharp pain running through his wings.

"Hm? Why didn't you go 'squish?'" Hades inquired, withdrawing his fist. Pit pushed himself up and got to his feet.

"Orichalcum is tough to get through," another voice answered. You should know that from last time, Hades." And with that, a charged blast hit Hades square in the face, and he clutched the impacted spot in pain. Pit looked over to find the source of the voice and the shot.

"Kuro!" he called out. "What are you doing here?"

"Fighting," Dark Pit replied simply. He had pulled off his tunic and tied it over his shoulder, his broken left arm slung through it, and in his right hand he held a Palutena Blade. "Palutena asked me to. And she outranks you, so here I am."

"But-"

"And I'm not leaving," the dark angel interrupted. "I've still got one good arm and I can aim. So, let's finish this."

"You're even more persistent than I thought, Ptooey," Hades remarked. "I suppose that just means I'll have to 'finish' you both!"

"Ooooh, real original," Pit rolled his eyes and aimed for Hades's face, but a shot from the lord of the Underworld's hand caught him off guard and he was sent flying back, skidding across dirt and stone once he landed on his shoulder.

"Just checking," Dark Pit mumbled as he shot another blast. "We can't fly again yet, right?"

"Unfortunately," Palutena's voice replied. "I'm sorry, both of you. You're going to have to tough this one out on foot. But please, be careful."

"Got it," Pit got himself to his feet again and fired, finally managing to hit Hades's face. The lord of the Underworld grunted in pain again and turned from the dark winged angel to the white winged one.

"You're both so misbehaved," he mused. "And, like a couple of undisciplined children, you need to be punished!" He brought his fist up again and swept it around, a wave of dark energy pulsing from it that knocked both angels back further.

"Pit!" Palutena called as he shouted wordlessly, plummeting after he'd fallen over the edge of the islet. Dark Pit quickly echoed his name as he spread his wings in an attempt to stabilize himself.

"Enjoy your journey south, Pitty!" Hades laughed just before he took another shot to the face from Dark Pit's Blade. Pit grit his teeth as he tried to suppress his panic.

"Lady Palutena!" he yelled as Hades was distracted by the dark angel. "Help me!"

"I… hold on, Pit!" she replied. "I'll try to extract-"

"I'm afraid you won't be retrieving him, pretty Palutena," Hades taunted.

"You're blocking me?" she guessed.

"And Professor Palutena does it again!" Hades confirmed as Pit continued plummeting quickly toward the surface. Shame whipped him in the face just like the wind as he attempted to fly- a futile attempt, like usual.

_I'm never going to have that wish,_ he admitted within his mind, squinting his eyes shut, preparing for the worst.

"Oof!" again his breath was knocked out of him as he suddenly made impact much faster than he expected, and his eyes flew open.

"Honestly, you'd never be able to do ANYthing without me," Viridi sighed as Pit realized he'd landed on a small rock platform carried by the Forces of Nature. "I'm always stuck saving your falling feathered butt."

"Uh… last I checked, I don't have feathers on my-"

"Too much information!" Viridi interrupted him. "Now, look. If my Children get you close enough, will you be able to take him down?"

"Of course," Pit replied. "I've got this." The Forces of Nature quickly carried his rock back up to the main levels of Skyworld, where Hades had Dark Pit trapped between the edge of the islet and the crumbling walls of Palutena's temple. He gripped his Blade and glared at the lord of the Underworld with hostility setting his bright red eyes on fire.

"Pit, listen to me," Palutena beckoned. "Obviously, just destroying Hades isn't enough, but we can't erase his soul either."

"Why not?" Dark Pit growled as he ducked and dodged an attack, wincing as his left arm brushed against the ground.

"Because we have to consider the Balance," Palutena replied as the Forces of Nature carrying Pit's rock detoured to avoid Hades's fist. "Hades is the lord of the Underworld, and that gives him power over the Balance of life and death, of the very laws of our world. Viridi and I both share this power as well."

"It's really technical," Viridi agreed. "I hope we never have to blow your brains by fully explaining it."

"Anyway," Palutena went on. "But Hades has overstepped his boundaries drawn by the Balance, and we have to subdue him."

"But completely destroying him would throw the Balance off and cause chaos between life and death," Dark Pit guessed.

"And that would be… bad, right?" Pit wondered.

"Quite bad indeed," Hades joined the conversation as he swatted at Dark Pit again- this time, gaining a direct hit. The dark angel slammed against the wall of the temple and fell to the ground, momentarily stunned as his weapon fell out of his grip, and Hades quickly destroyed it. "You see, Pitty, though I enjoy using souls the way I see fit, it's nothing compared to tipping the scales from the Underworld- there would be nothing to keep life from death, or vice versa."

"So… the humans… no, every living creature out there would end up in some sort of limbo," Pit realized. "We can't let that happen."

"But we can't just let him go on like this," Dark Pit managed to say as he collected himself.

"Exactly," Viridi agreed. "But I think Palutena has a plan. Right?"

"Right," the goddess of Light replied. "But I'm not entirely sure it will work. Pit, I can't explain all the details, but I'm preparing something for you to use once we've weakened Hades enough for it to work if it will at all. Once it's ready, I'll charge it into your bow. Do you understand?"

"And then I let loose, right?" Pit replied.

"Exactly," Palutena answered. "But be careful. It'll take time for me to get it right."

"Here, have some backup that isn't as useless as the Centurions," Viridi announced as more of the Forces of Nature arrived. "Especially since it seems Kuro there is down for the count."

"Not yet," Dark Pit smirked and pulled one of the two blades that made up the bow Dyntos had given him, formerly tucked into his belt behind him. "Not until you've completely wiped me from existence."

"And that's something I SO look forward to doing," Hades mocked and readied an attack in his palm. Once the Forces of Nature had gotten him to what he deemed to be a close enough distance, Pit fired a charged shot from the Winged Bow that scored right in Hades's nose.

"Ouch!" Hades protested. "Pitty, why do you hate me so much?"

"Because you abuse your power!" Pit replied and readjusted his helmet before taking another shot. "Because you have no regard for the Balance that you're supposed to help protect, because you're ruthless toward life, because you're destroying my home, because you threatened Lady Palutena, and because you nearly killed my brother!" He paused to catch is breath. "Does that answer your question?" He pulled up the Energy Shield as Hades suddenly produced several balls of light that travelled quickly toward him, but were nullified on contact.

"Your brother?" Hades inquired.

"Down here," Dark Pit rolled his eyes, catching Hades's attention long enough for Pit to strike again. Hades grimaced, obviously annoyed, and Pit thought he could see traces of pain on the lord of the Underworld's face.

"You must be joking," Hades laughed darkly. "Pitty, do you not remember how you two met?"

"Doesn't matter," Pit replied simply. "But I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand."

"He's like the annoying little brother I can't help but care about," Dark Pit chuckled.

"How precious," Hades remarked. "Then I'll make sure you two have a nice 'brotherly' death." He took a deep breath and bowed back. "And Medusa won't be here to save you this time!" Pit focused and cast a power into his bow to make it charge quickly and fired shot after shot in an attempt to strike down the lord of the Underworld before he had a chance to annihilate the angels. But Hades wouldn't comply, and he grit his teeth in fear as he sensed that his adversary's attack was nearly complete.

However, a light suddenly shot out of Palutena's ruined temple and settled into his bow, pulsing with power.

"Pit, now! Aim for his center!" the goddess of Light commanded, and Pit took careful aim, knowing in the back of his mind that he would only have one shot. He readied the arrow, glowing with blinding blue, green, yellow, and white lights, and fired straight at Hades's chest.

"Oop!" The blast he had been charging shot straight up into the sky over them, and its power knocked Pit off his feet. He rolled over and stood up, his limbs shaking, as Hades looked himself over. It wasn't long until the lord of the Underworld started laughing. "Oh, Pitty, Palutena! Is that really the best you can muster? I must say I'm disappointed. I truly expected more of a final stand from you- Truly! But perhaps my new form is just too much for you."

"Is… is that really it?" Pit mumbled, fear again setting into his being. "Lady Palutena?" he called out.

"Think again, Hades," the goddess of Light replied slyly. "Weren't you paying attention? You always call me 'Professor.' Well, sit down and pay attention. I know it's hard to focus on anything with that ego of yours in the way…"

"Whoa! Score for Palutena!" Viridi interjected approvingly.

"Yes, thank you," Palutena laughed. "But Hades, honestly. We just finished going over how we can't just destroy you- that'd be pointless, because you would just reform again. So, what do we do with things we can't get rid of, but don't want to let free?"

"Subdue it and lock it up," Dark Pit guessed.

"Correct," Palutena confirmed as she emerged from the rubble of her temple.

"And how, pray tell, do you plan to do that?" Hades inquired, watching her curiously.

"A… tether, if you will," she replied. "And that's what Pit just shot into you. A restraint." Pit blinked and stared at his bow for a moment. "For the sake of all living things, the safety of my territory, and the Balance of life and death, I imprison you, lord of the Underworld. I seal your power, and you can make certain that I'll be watching to make sure you won't escape."

Unable to speak, Hades just burst into laughter once she'd finished her speech. Pit felt his fear mix with anger and hate, and he readied his bow again.

"Stand down, Pit," Palutena ordered. "There's nothing more you can do at this point." With that, she pointed her staff at the lord of the Underworld and a light illuminated from it. Hades's laughter died down as it surrounded him. He yelled out wordlessly in what sounded like sudden agony as his form was compressed, and it wasn't long until what was left of it suddenly shot down toward the surface and below. Silence held the air for several moments.

"Okay, he's pretty deep in the Underworld," Viridi announced. "Wow, Palutena. I'm impressed. Good work."

"Thank you, Viridi," Palutena smiled and Pit jumped off his rock, landing with a thud next to her. "And you too, Pit. You've done a wonderful job." He pulled his helmet off and smiled sheepishly.

"Only because you always give me the will to keep fighting, Lady Palutena," he replied as Dark Pit approached them. The white winged angel mentally prepared for some sort of smart comment from his dark look-alike, but it didn't come.

"So, Hades is stuck now?" he wondered.

"Indeed. We won't need to worry about him for quite some time." Palutena's smile grew. "Now then. Pit, you'd better help Kuro deal with his arm. A soak in the Hot Spring will help take the edge off of the injury, but it'll still be a little while before it fully heals." Dark Pit nodded.

"I could use a soak myself right about now," Pit grinned. Palutena nodded again and swept her staff across the horizon. To Pit's relief and amazement, the light cast from it quickly spread across Skyworld's islets and below them, and the Centurions that had fallen against Hades's attack slowly started rising.

"And this is why they need to toughen up," Dark Pit remarked, and Pit and Palutena both started laughing.


	15. Chapter XV: Epilogue

It had been about three months after Palutena had sealed Hades, and Pit was still in awe of her demonstration of power. He exited the structure serving as his housing into the bright sunlight, brushing his brown bangs out of his face.

"I need a haircut," he thought aloud as he jumped off the edge of the islet and glided toward the next one and continued on his way until he reached the central plaza of Skyworld. In the center was a raised stone platform surrounded by rich green grass, and on the edges were stone pillars connected together where the residents of the heavens could gather.

Pit slowed down and reflected on the reconstruction of his home- he'd been incredibly busy pulling his own weight and directing the Centurion Strongarms in their work. He was thankful that Palutena had used her power to quicken the process, and their repairs from Hades's attack were nearly complete. The young angel shut his eyes and took a deep breath, simply enjoying the peace both within and around him.

"Pit!" he heard his name. "I know we all live with our heads in the clouds, but come back down a bit!" His eyes snapped open and he found the goddess of Light watching him from a short distance away, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"L-Lady Palutena!" he kneeled and bowed his head. "Good morning," he added a bit too late.

"And good morning to you," she laughed. "Get up, silly." He did as told and smiled sheepishly.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he wondered, recovering his high spirits.

"Have you seen Kuro?" His smile faded a bit at her question and, after thinking it over for a moment, he shook his head.

"No," he replied. "But knowing him, he's probably still asleep." She chuckled a bit.

"Actually," she corrected, "I believe he's over at that Hot Spring on the edge of our territory. Would you go get him for me?" Pit dipped his head.

"Will do," he grinned. "Back in a flash, Lady Palutena." He hurried off in her indicated direction, dodging around construction projects as he nodded greetings to the Centurions he passed. After a short while, he launched himself into the air and glided over to an isolated islet that was home to a rather large and open Hot Spring, and, sure enough, he found his companion sitting on the edge of the islet- his dark wings still drying from the waters. To both of the angels' relief, Dark Pit's arm had healed rather quickly and he was back at his full strength. Unfortunately, Pit had noticed, he was also back to his sullen mood despite their victory.

"Am I interrupting?" Pit began. Dark Pit looked up, though he didn't turn around.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," the black-haired angel replied. "What's up?"

"Lady Palutena wants to see you," Pit answered as he traced the perimeter of the Hot Spring to stand a short distance behind him.

"Is that so?" there was no real trace of sarcasm in his tone. For once, it was actually a question. "Why?"

"I don't know," Pit admitted. "She was in a pretty good mood, so I doubt it's anything bad, but..." he trailed off as he realized the dark angel had his Silver Bow with him. "Hey, what's with the weapon choice? Why don't you have the one Lady Palutena gave you? Or Dyntos's?" Dark Pit's silence worried him. "Kuro... you're not..." he paused. "You're not leaving, are you?" Silence passed between them for several moments.

"I was hoping to slip out unnoticed," the dark angel sighed. "But I guess that's not happening. She won't let me without seeing me first, will she?"

"You're learning," Pit tried to joke, but his suddenly bleak mood dulled his voice. "But... Kuro. Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you leaving? Why now?" Again, it took the dark angel several moments to answer.

"I was going to go once my arm was done healing, but then I decided to wait until the reconstruction was finished. Or at least mostly."

"But why are you going at all?" Pit demanded. Dark Pit stood up and turned to face him.

"You think anyone really wants me around on a daily basis? An angel of darkness?" His words stunned the white-winged angel into silence. "You're the hero, Pit. Have your moment. Don't let me drag you down."

"But-" Pit's voice caught in his throat. Dark Pit walked past him toward the other edge of the islet.

"I guess I'd better see what she wants." He jumped into the air and Pit quickly followed him, and they travelled in an awkward silence until they returned to the central plaza.

"There you are," Palutena smiled as the two angels weaved their way through the gathering Centurions. As Dark Pit approached her, she motioned for Pit to stay back. He hesitantly complied, conflict welling up within him as he refused to come to terms with the dark angel's decision.

No, that wasn't it.

He couldn't believe that his brother would leave, just like that. Palutena's smile faded as she caught on to Dark Pit's mood, and her eyes darkened a bit as he pulled his laurel crown off his head and handed it to her.

"Kuro..." she began. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not one of Skyworld's angels," he replied bluntly. "That's a symbol of the heavenly." He shrugged.

"What do you mean?" the goddess pressed. He sighed.

"Come on, Lady Palutena. Look at me. Do you really want someone like me in your ranks? I can't fight what I am."

"Then what are you in your own eyes?" she wondered, and he didn't reply. "Kuro, despite everything- how you came to be, your original intentions, everything you've been through, and your appearance-, you've fought for light and for the Balance. No one can ever take that away from you. You've proven yourself to be an able warrior, and the only one who could match your ability is standing behind you." Dark Pit glanced over his shoulder and Pit shrugged, forcing a smile.

"What does it matter?" he mumbled, turning back to her. She shut her eyes for a moment in thought.

"If you could change..." she began," Would you stay, Kuro? Do you want to remain here in Skyworld?" He nodded slowly. "But you won't. Not with the way things are now." Again, he nodded. "What if I gave you a choice?" He looked up to her, confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"If I could give you what you want... would you stay, then, and serve alongside Pit?" Unable to speak, he nodded once more. She looked past him to her captain. "Pit, will you come here for a moment?" Confused, he did as he was asked. "Turn around."

"Uh, okay," he blinked and turned, his back facing her. "Ow!" And with that, he jumped as she suddenly pulled one of his feathers from his wing. "What was that for?" he demanded.

"For him," she smiled and, holding the tip of the feather gently, pulled it up in front of her face. "Kuro... is this what you want? To be freed?"

"Yes," he replied softly, shutting his eyes. She nodded and let out a slow breath, and the feather dissolved into flecks of light that descended upon him and enveloped his wings. As it died down, it revealed sparkling, pure white feathers just like Pit's. He opened his red eyes in wonder and glanced over his shoulder at them, and shock immediately overtook his expression as he turned back to Palutena.

"Is that better?" she smiled, and he nodded slowly. "Excellent." She lifted the laurel crown in her possession. "I, Palutena, goddess of Light and ruler of Skyworld, hereby recognize this young man before me as a benevolent angel of my realm, a true warrior that many will look to for example and guidance, a pure and true heart who will carry this world to greatness as he upholds the Balance." She set the laurel crown in place among his spiky black locks of hair, and he smiled.

"I'll do my best, Lady Palutena," he vowed.

"I know you will, Kuro." She rested her hand on his shoulder for a moment. "You may rise." He nodded and got to his feet, then turned around to face the gathered Centurions. Pit grinned and walked up to his side, slinging his arm over his twin's shoulders.

"I think she just officially changed your name to 'Kuro,'" he laughed, and Kuro grinned and shrugged him off. Pit scanned over the Centurions with a bright smile on his face. "Alright, all of you! You know Kuro, right? You know who he is and what he's done. So cut him some slack. After all, he is my brother." After a moment, cheering erupted from the plaza, and the red-eyed, black-haired, and white-winged angel glanced around.

"This doesn't change anything," he said jokingly to Pit.

"What do you mean?" Pit inquired.

"I'm still better than you," Kuro laughed, and Pit shoved him playfully.

"Come on, you two," Palutena chuckled. "Be nice. You'll be stuck with each other for a long time."

"I guess," Pit laughed, and Kuro shook his head in amusement.

"So..." a dulled voice echoed around a cavern somewhere in the dark recesses of the Underworld. "It took imprisoning Hades to save the humans..." a young man sighed, his violet-red eyes dull with thought. "No matter what... battle will always be sitting on the horizon. Peace will be lost to bloodshed no matter how many times Hades is repelled. The goddess of Nature can't be trusted, and..." he looked up. "Those angels. Never has such a destructive force been contained in one soul." He shut his eyes, and his silver bangs fell into his face. "Then it's time to reform this world." He paused for a while. "Enjoy your reprieve, angels. It may very well be your last."


End file.
